Something Wicked
by writergirl438
Summary: Nothing is what it seems on All Hallow's Eve and Power Rangers from In Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force & Wild Force find themselves in a sticky situation when something sinister comes to town and they're not exactly feeling like themselves. Will they be able to pull together and save the day? Or will a real nightmare unfold in Silver Hills?
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys, Happy Halloweek!

This is the first time I'm attempting a Halloween story but have been wanting to do it for a long time now, so here goes nothing. This story is in a sense inpired by the Halloween episode from Buffy Season 2 but definitely has it's own twist. The plan was to post a chanpter a day so that it ends on Halloween and I'll try and stick to it, but if it doesn't work out, please bear with me. Now, on with the story...

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers**_

* * *

**Chapter 1: _To Scare Or Not To Scare_**

A bristly autumn blew through the streets of Silver Hills, stirring up the odd leaf or two as people scurried up and down the sidewalks barely sparing a glance at the ghouls, ghosts and skeletons staring out at them through shop windows or the bright orange pumpkins with menacing smiles carved into their faces that paved the streets.

"Who waits till the day before Halloween to get their costume?" Alyssa Enrilé grumbled as she led her friends to a store covered in black and orange streamers with two witches standing at the door to welcome them. The petite brunette shook her head and opened her mouth to continue telling off her friend as she pushed the door open only to freeze in the doorway.

"Apparently, lots of people," Taylor Earhardt replied with a teasing smile when they were greeted by a throng of people shouting, shoving and arguing with the confines of the store. "Let's get this over with," the blond added as she pulled her yellow jacket tighter and pushed her way forward.

Alyssa scowled and turned to the third person rounding off their party but Jen Scotts could only offer her a shrug. "She's got you there,"she pointed out before gently placing her hand on the shorter brunette's shoulder and nudging her forward. "Come on, I still need to pick mine up, I just hope they had the time to alter it."

The two of them pushed their way in, Jen making a beeline for the counter, or at least she tried to, while Alyssa set off in search of Taylor. "I still can't believe this place is so crowded today," she squeaked as she sidled next to her friend, who was browsing through a rack.

"Actually, it's the busiest day of the year," a cheerful blonde wearing devil horns informed as she reached past Taylor to grab a catsuit off the rack before turning back into the crowd. Alyssa turned to Taylor who just shrugged before moving on to the next rack, her lips curling to the side, like they often did when she wasn't impressed.

"What's Eric going as? Maybe you guys could do a couples costume," the brunette suggested, earning a raised brow that forced her to sigh as she shook her head. "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. Eric is going to get a costume though, right? You did promise Wes you'd try to get into the spirit of things."

"Why do you think I'm here? And I don't have a problem with Halloween, dressing up was just never a big deal for me. As for Eric, I have no idea what he's planning to do apart from that he'll show up."

Alyssa nodded and looked around the store as the men and women around them continued to pull costumes off the racks. "So what are you going to do? You're running out of options."

"That is a good question," Taylor mused as she sidestepped a trio of women who reached for the last nurse's costume on the rack. "It's mine," shouted the first, tugging the dress bag towards her.

"No, I saw it first," the second screeched.

"It won't even fit you," yelled the third.

"Ladies, Ladies," the blonde from earlier soothed as she reappeared beside them. "Why don't we all calm down, I'm sure we can find something for all of you."

Taylor and Alyssa shared a look over the warring trio before the brunette pointed towards the dressing room and mouthing that she was going to find Jen, leaving the blonde to roll her eyes at the screeching women and make her way to the counter by the window.

"If you ask me, those three should be looking at banshee costumes instead."

She looked up from the yellow masquerade mask she was looking at to find a young brunette wearing a halo over her head leaning on the glass display case from behind the counter. "They certainly have the voices for it," Taylor mumbled as he turned her attention back to the case.

"So what's your story?"

She looked up once again to find hazel eyes staring at her. "Sorry?"

"I meant why did you put getting your costume off?" the young woman drawled. "Most of these people are here because they spent all month on their kid's costume and didn't think of their own, or singles who got invited to a hot party at the last moment and want to make an impression on their crush. Oh and let's not forget the workaholics who completely forgot and need a costume for the office party if they're going to suck up to the boss. You don't look like any of the usuals."

"Actually, I do have a last minute party to go to, but it's more of a get a costume or murder the friend throwing it so I don't have to bother situation."

"I see. Not big on the whole Halloween experience? Your friends seem pretty excited though."

Taylor scoffed and turned around, spotting Alyssa outside the changing rooms and presumed Jen was trying on her costume. "You could say that. One of them started work on her costume in September, but the other is just making the effort to do something special for her boyfriend. He's a bit of a Halloween nut."

"Ooh… is that the costume that came in for alteration?" the brunette asked, as her eyes lit up with excitement. "That guy is not going to know what hit him."

Taylor chuckled as she leaned into the counter, "Wait till she sees what he's picked out for himself. Wes had gone to great lengths to keep his costume a secret but his constant prattling about Halloweens as a kid made it a pretty easy guess. Eric had offered her a friendly wager on whether Wes was actually that simple-minded or cooking up a major misdirection. She didn't take losing bets.

"So what about you?" the clerk asked, once again drawing her attention. "What do you plan on mesmerizing everyone as? Witches are my personal favourite but if you want something a little less traditional, I think there's an Amelia Earhart costume in the back that's your size, not all that sexy but we could…"

"No," Taylor cut her off shaking her head at the cliché that would be. She sighed and turned towards the window. "And trust me, mesmerizing is not what I'm going for, there's only one thing I want to at this party and thats…"

She trailed off as her eyes widened and she immediately turned back to the case she was looking at earlier, eyes sweeping over the contents until they settled on something that caught her eye earlier. She placed her finger on the glass and turned back to the window, a mischievous smile stretching across her face before she looked up at the clerk once again. "I'll take this instead."

The brunette squinted but wordlessly slipped the object out of the case and showed it to her. When Taylor confirmed that was what she wanted the clerk asked if there was anything else she wanted. "Hmm, actually there is something." The clerk's eyes lit up as she described what she wanted and nodded vigorously. "There's a box in the back, give me a minute I'll dig it out."

"That's cool, I need to step out for a minute though, so if my friends come looking for me, could you tell them I'll be right back?"

"Sure… Happy haunting," she called out but Taylor was already halfway out the door.

* * *

The headlights of the black SUV lit up the Welcome To Silver Hills sign bringing a small smile to Eric Myers' face as he the car pick up speed. "It's about time," his passenger mumbled as he stretched within the confines of his seat.

"We're lucky we missed the traffic," Eric informed. "The drive from Newtech usually takes a lot longer. But we would have gotten here lot sooner if it we'd gotten an earlier start."

"Sorry about that," Andros apologised. "But I wanted to have those documents in place before we reconvene on Monday."

Eric shook his head. "Under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do. Besides, while this is groundbreaking stuff, we also need to proceed with caution and that means checking and double checking. We need to do this right."

Andros nodded as he adjusted his seatbelt and turned to look at the night sky lit up with tiny pin pricks of light. He took a deep breath and relaxed into his seat. To say the last few days were hectic would be an understatement and with all the travelling he had been doing in the last couple of months he was looking forward to spending a weekend with friends. "I'm surprised Wes didn't stick around," he added as an afterthought. "He seemed pretty bowled over by all of this."

"I think we were all a little bowled over by the proposal, more so after meeting Kruger and Dr. Manx. And an intergalactic police force is definitely something Wes wants to be a part of, even if he is leaning towards the Bio-Lab side of things these days. The only reason he left was because of this party he's decided to throw and he has a surprise for Jen that required his personal attention."

Andros turned back to him with a raised eyebrow but Eric simply shook his head and kept his eyes on the road, as they drove further into the city. When he realised Eric wasn't going to confirm his suspicions he sighed and turned back to the window, taking in the pumpkins basking in the ominous glow of the street lights. "It was really nice of him to throw a party for all of us and put us up at the hotel for the entire weekend. It's a lot of trouble to go through for one party."

"Don't sweat it," Eric replied as he turned on to a familiar street. "It's the least he can do for making all of you come out here while you're in the middle of something important. And believe me, he can afford it. Also, a party is never just a party when Wes is involved, so brace yourself."

"Ashley is definitely excited. We were on K0-35 for the last few Halloweens and we don't celebrate it there. Though she was upset that Wes didn't give her enough time to get a costume. I put my faith in her for this mission, I never quite grasped the concept of this holiday."

Eric nodded and pointed out that Wes would be happy to explain to him but when Andros began prodding him for details on his costume, he immediately shut him down by asking him if Ashley and he had set a date yet.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Eric waved goodbye to Andros and pulled out of the driveway of the Centennial Hotel. As he hit the street his phone rang, a very familiar face popping up on his screen. "Hey Tay," he answered, putting the phone on speaker as he navigated through the heavily decorated streets. "How did costume hunting go?"

"Oh I think I found something that will make Wes think twice before making me do this again," she shot back.

Eric chuckled as he turned down the block, thinking about how much Taylor was going to make Wes pay for pulling a stunt like this. "Can't wait to see it."

"For that you'd need to get your ass back home. Any chance I get to see you before the ghouls officially come out to play?"

He glanced at his watch and noticed that there was less than a minute to midnight. "Not quite. I just dropped Andros off at the hotel but I should be home soon. I promise to blast through any ghouls who get in my way."

"You do that," she chuckled before telling him to drive safe and hanging up. A small smile found its way to his lips as he pushed the car forward down the empty streets, eyes forward and just barely registering the dashboard clock beep as the digits turned to 12:00.

The wind stirred and the trees swayed as a ripple of light arched through the sky unseen. And as Eric turned away from the main street, a glowing rift appeared in his wake, growing larger and larger. One-by-one three figures in high heeled boots stepped through, three pairs of emerald eyes narrowing as they surveyed their surroundings. The one in the middle stepped forward and placed her arms on her hips as she raised her head, dark painted lips stretching into a smirk as she took in the decorations that lined the streets. "Let's go sisters, we have work to do."

* * *

That's it for now. Hope your enjoyed it. Please do review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews.

So I don't think I'm going to be able to get this done by Halloween but there's nothing wrong with extending the celebrations a little - is there?

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2: _Bubble, Bubble, Toil & Trouble_**

Long red hair danced behind its owner, mirroring the flames stirring beneath the large cauldron sitting in the middle of a windowless room littered with boxes. A tan face lit up as it leaned over the thick white smoke pouring from the mouth, making dark painted lips curl into a smile. A slim form clad in a fitted, short black dress with feathered collar arching backwards and broad silver belt that extended to the bodice rose to full height, stepping into the light of the fire illuminating the diamond-shaped ruby amulet hanging around her neck.

Tan arms rose from long slit sleeves that reached her ankles and circled around the mouth of the cauldron before she brought them to the centre and pushed them apart in opposite directions, commanding the smoke to follow until it flowed out of the cauldron covering the floor with a light mist and leaving a clear liquid behind. Her smile widened as she stared at her reflection before lifting her eyes to the clock on the wall.

A gentle glow emanating from her pocket drew her attention. She rolled her eyes before pulling out a small circular hand mirror and placing it in the palm of her hand and raising it to eye level. Emerald eyes narrowed just fraction undoing the clasp and lifting the top half of the mirror. In it she saw, not her reflection but a thick, swirling fog disrupted only by two pairs of glowing amber eyes.

"Report", a hoarse voice echoed but she didn't even bat an eye.

"You'd think after all these millenia you'd learn to have a little patience. And it wouldn't kill you to trust us either. We do know what we're doing," she snapped.

"Callista," a calmer voice spoke. "We do not question your abilities, but as you have stated it has been millenia and we would like to be aware of how our plans are progressing."

"If you must," she sighed. "We have procured…" she looked around at the room taking towers of boxes that took up most of the space with the exception of one wall where a glass cabinet stood open, revealing rows of vials and jars of all sizes. "... a location to enact the spell. Everything is going as per your desires and we are almost ready to begin. When the Hallow's moon rises, this world will never be the same again."

"So it shall," the hoarse voice spoke. "Too long have we suffered for the sake of mortals while they parade around on this most hallowed night, mocking and taunting us. No longer shall we be silent spectators. It is time both worlds know our true might."

"My brother speaks true," the calmer voice took over. "This moment shall not come again for many millennia, all must be done to perfection and failure is unacceptable."

"I understand…"

She trailed off and clasped the mirror shut when she heard the door open but instantly relaxed when the sound of familiar arguing reached her ears. She turned to the staircase to see two figures descend into the darkness, each carrying a cardboard box. "Where have you two been? It's almost time," Callista barked as she nodded to the clock that revealed that there were 10 minutes until it struck twelve.

"Since when do we cast spells at noon?" asked the plump, petite blonde dressed in a black halter top with a ruffled burlesque skirt complete with a black headband sitting across her curls and a circular citrine amulet around her neck.

"It's a special kind of spell," the second newcomer pointed out, rolling her eyes as she set her box down on a table by the cauldron. Donning a boatneck, form fitting jumpsuit with a silver belt, she towered over the other two, further standing out with her cropped pale blue locks and the shimmering oval-shaped sapphire amulet she wore around her neck. "You have no idea how hard it is to find the ingredients you asked for in this world,"she added, turning to Callista.

"Any self respecting witch would always be stocked up on these," the blonde grumbled as she pulled out over a dozen orange candles from her box and placed them on the table."

"There is nothing respectable about these two," the taller witch declared as she walked over to the limp forms of two young women in identical uniforms, one a brunette wearing a halo and the other a blonde wearing devil horns, and prodded one of them with her boot.

"That's enough Callico," Callista ordered. "Leave them be, they will not be a part of tonight's festivities, nor will they interfere with what we must do."

"You didn't kill them, did you?" the blonde squeaked as she stopped unpacking the second box.

"And fill this place with the stench of death? Not today Camryn," the red-head declared as she walked over to the table and picked up a bottle of white powder. "Besides, despite their poor choices, they are still witches. The blood of our kind is not lightly spilled."

Camryn sighed in relief and unpacked the remaining vials but Callico sneered as she returned to the table, picking up a packet of seaweed and a jar of dried lavender before joining Callista by the cauldron. "Witches who willingly strip their auras to play mortal games and parade around in these things, are not witches. They dishonour their blood by encouraging this foolish masquerade," she argued, scoffing as she looked around at boxes labelled vampire fangs and fairy wings.

"And if they must," Camryn added as she walked over to an open box and pulled out a black witch hat. "You'd think they'd be more accurate with what they peddle, hats are so three centuries ago."

"Never mind them," Callista ordered, as she raised her palm, lifting the remaining vials into the air and making them float towards her. "We can deal with them later, provided they survive what is coming." She waved her hand around and one-by-one the vials tipped over, emptying their contents into the cauldron, turning the clear liquid pink, then orange and finally purple.

Emerald eyes flew to the clock registering that there was only a minute to twelve. "Quickly now, the final ingredient." Camryn nodded and lifted the medium-sized jack-o-lantern and teeterd over to the cauldron. At Callista's command the lantern flew out of her hand and hovered over the cauldron, slowly spinning around. With her other hand she sent the candles flying around the room, settling in different places. Callico opened her palm and then clenched it causing the flames beneath the cauldron rise and its contents to bubble.

When the clock struck twelve the pumpkin fell into the liquid making it hiss and spit as the candles around the room simultaneously lit up, filling the air with a spicy aroma. Callista raised an eyebrow at her blonde sister but she just shrugged saying they were the only ones she could find. Shaking her head Callista stepped closer to the cauldron and held out her hands to her sisters. They took hers and reached for each others, forming a triangle around the cauldron as the spitting stopped and the contents turned to a bright, luminous green.

As one the witches bowed their heads as their amulets began to glow and began to speak in turn. Callico: "You wear masks that grin and lie, they hide your cheeks and shade your eyes."

Callista: "But on this night of Hallows' Eve, let lie become truth and that which was truth be cleaved."

Camryn: "Powers from the other side, hear our cry, answer our plea, come to us from across the veil and as we will, so let it be."

Callista: "Forces strong but yet unseen, unleash your might this Halloween."

They looked up and chanted as one, "Dicimus tres virtute imperio fiat."

Together they raised their joint hands just above the cauldron and chanted once more, "Dicimus tres virtute imperio fiat."

They raised their hands above their heads and looked up to the ceiling, chanting louder and with more fervour, "Dicimus tres virtute imperio fiat."

As the last word left their mouths, they were encompassed by the green glow emanating from the cauldron, the wind stirred around them and flames of the candles intensified as a glowing pentagram appeared beneath their feet, it spun around, growing larger and larger until it shot out of the confines of the room, stretching across the entire city.

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and share your throughts.

My apologies for the poor attempt at spell writing - it's a work in progress ans I'm pretty sure I borrowed the first line from but right now I can't remember where, it's just been stuck in my head for a while now.

Till next time...


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for the reviews.

My apologies for the delay with this chapter, time just hasn't been my friend lately.

The title of this chapter is a shoutout to the first Halloween Special that MMPR did back in 1993

* * *

**Chapter 3:_ Life's A Masquerade_**

Taylor ran her fingers through her hair as she stared at her reflection, the side parting wasn't her usual style but she could live with it, at least she didn't need to wear a wig - not that she would have. Bringing her arms to rest on her hips she bit her lip as she twisted around to get a better look. She couldn't remember the last time she dressed up for Halloween, and was still wondering how Wes had cornered her into agreeing to this.

She glanced at her watch and frowned, shooting a glance at the window she shook her head and made her way to the side table where she'd left the bag from the costume store. She slipped the necklace around her neck, setting the clasp in place before pulling her hair around and reaching for the jacket that was laying on the bed. She added the final touches to her outfit and gave herself a final once over, then grabbed her bag and headed out.

The day had been a busy one, Wes had unveiled his big surprise for Jen which was getting their teammates back for the day. Eric was doubtful he could pull it off but apparently Alex had inherited his love of Halloween and agreed citing that the day was a grey area even where time was concerned which meant that the Time Force Rangers were cleared to return for the day, on the condition that the time ship returned to 3006 before midnight.

Eric didn't understand it and neither did she or Jen for that matter but the latter was far too excited to see her friends to care. Taylor had to agree it was nice to see them again and was glad Eric asked her to tag along to greet them but she was ready to bow out and give the team some time to catch up, Wes on the other hand had other plans, dragging her along with them for everything he had planned. Eric, however, had to excuse himself to get to work, he did join them for lunch but disappeared right after.

As the cab pulled into the driveway of the Collins mansion her eyes widened when she saw the giant jack-o-lantern sitting on the front lawn staring out at her with a gruesome grin, but with the sun still up it didn't have quite the menacing effect though she was sure the trick or treaters would get a real kick out of it.

When she got to the door she was surprised to find Phllips letting her in wearing a phantom mask. "He got to you too?" she asked as she let him take her bag.

"It appearsMaster Wesley's enthusiasm is not to be denied today Miss."

"Just make sure you join the party too. And as for Wesley's enthusiasm, let's see if we can reign that in a little."

Phillips offered her a smile before leaving her to put her things away as she wandered down the hall to the ballroom. Voices floated out into the hallway, growing louder as she stepped into a room that was an explosion of orange and purple streamers with witch hat luminaries hanging from the ceiling, bats circling every pillar and jack-o-lanterns scattered across the floor and tables.

"Taylor!" Katie's voice drew her attention away from the decorations to the costumed rangers and Nadira standing by the heavily laden refreshment table. She smiled as made her way to the other yellow ranger dressed in a long black dress with ragged ends and a pointed hat sitting on top of her curls.

"Hey Katie, you look great, though bewitching is probably the better word."

Katie chuckled as she explained how Wes picked out their costumes. "He even got me a broomstick," she pointed out as they joined the others, giving Taylor a chance to look at the other costumes.

Lucas stood out in a bright red suit, especially standing in between Nadira in a svelte catwoman ensemble and the white and blue of Trip's R2-D2 get up. "Really pushing the speed thing, aren't you Kendall?"

"Wes picked this out," he grumbled as he pulled the mask off his head and looking down at the lightning bolt emblem on his chest. "I think it's purrfect," Nadira added as she looped her arm through his and looked up at him. "I don't know why he picked mine though."

"You look amazing," Taylor assured her. "Let's just hope no one shows up as Batman though."

Nadira narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side while Lucas just rolled his. "I thought that's what Wes is going to be," Trip offered.

"Oh there's definitely something batty about his costume," Taylor mumbled as she watched circuit fly off the table and land on the head of Trip's costume.

"Do you know what he dressing up as then?" asked Katie, "He's been oddly secretive about it."

"More like annoyingly," Lucas countered. "I'm not sure if he wanted us to guess or just wanted to point out that we didn't know.

"Relax Luke, that's just Wes being Wes, he's excited, he really loves the holiday and he's just happy the team's together again. He's sappy like that."

"Katie's right," Taylor offered. "And to answer your question, I don't know for sure but I do have a hunch."

"Who are you supposed to be anyway?" asked Lucas

"You didn't!"

They whipped around to find Wes standing in the doorway donning a dark suit, complete with a vest, crisp white shirt and a long, high collared cape with red lining and a pointed arch fall. His his hair was slicked back and his face pale while fangs protruded from his mouth as it hung wide open while his eyes were fixed on Taylor.

Jen rushed in after him, dressed in a short asymmetrical skirt with a dark pink halter and a long-sleeved, crop, sheer jacket. A pair of knee-high boots, a bat-wing necklace with a pink gem and straightened hair completed her look. Her face scrunched in confusion as she looked to Taylor and then back to Wes. "What's wrong?" she asked, revealing a pair of fangs of her own.

"Yeah Wes, what's the matter?" Taylor prodded folding her arms across her chest, her lips curling into a smirk.

"You… you… of all the costumes out there, you had to choose a vampire slayer, the vampire slayer."

Taylor chuckled and shifted her stance aware that all eyes in the room were currently on her as she stood in her deep red, faux leather pants, black tank top with a jacket thrown over it, paired with ankle boots and a silver cross that she wore around her neck.

The silence was broken by Jen's laughter as she left Wes' side to join her friends. "You were right, it is perfect. But does that mean I should keep my distance too?"

Taylor pulled out the wooden stake from inside her jacket and twirled it between her fingers with a smile. "There's always an exception or two to the rule, so you're safe. Not sure if I can say the same about the count over there."

Wes shook his head as he pulled himself together and stood straight with his head held high before dramatically raising one side of his cape and pulling it forward to cover half of his face. "We shall see young slayer," he voiced in his best but not quite there Transylvanian accent. "No one can escape the power of Count Dracula."

"We'll see about that," the blonde countered as she returned the stake to her jacket.

Wes smiled as he dropped the act and crossed the room to join the others stopping to pull Taylor into and whispering, "Thank you for doing this."

"You drive a hard bargain Collins," she murmured, "though it is a special occasion."

She smiled as she pulled back and he nodded before turning away to admire the others in their costumes. "You could have told me he was going to be a vampire," Jen argued as she slid next to her. "I told you it was just a hunch, besides you wanted to dress up as a modern version of his childhood go-to costume, it was a nice gesture. I didn't want to ruin it."

"True but…"

"Hey, at least you're not wearing the same costume and you unconsciously ended up with a couples costumes, Lyssa will be so proud. And speaking of costumes, did yours have the desired effect?" The sound of the doorbell crackling saved Jen from answering but the faint blush colouring her cheeks told Taylor everything she needed to know.

Wes scuttled to the doorway just in time to greet Andros and Ashley. The former was dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with bow tie and pocket square while his hair was slicked back and pulled into a ponytail. The brunette on the other had was clad a form hugging black jumpsuit with a utility belt with a gun harness strapped to both things, batons strapped to her back and mini gauntlets strapped to either wrists.

"Let me guess, James Bond and Black Widow," Wes pronounced as he welcomed them into his home.

"See people get it," Ashley nudged her companion before stepping forward to hug Wes. "He's still not convinced about the whole dressing up thing, so I figured being a spy would be more comfortable and the thought just stuck with me," she explained once she pulled back.

"You both look great. I'm so glad you made it."

"Thank you for having us," Andros added when Ashley stepped away to talk to Taylor and Jen. "Karone and the others should be here soon. Unfortunately Zhane couldn't be here. He's still on a mission to procure a substance for Dr. Manx and won't be back for another two days."

"That's okay, we can all hang out once things settle down with S.P.D. Come on, let me introduce you to my team."

* * *

Taylor scowled at her phone before the crackling doorbell caught her attention and she looked up just as Phillps welcomed the newcomers. She pushed herself away from the wall and joined them, offering to show them to the ballroom. "It's about time you got here," she said to the blonde wearing a layered pink dress with a silver tiara sitting on her head. "You're brother's just about ready to send out a search party."

Karone rolled her eyes before explaining that Zhane called. "If anyone understands why one does not miss an intergalactic phone call, it should be Andros. Besides, it's a party, we're not saving the world."

"I'll let you tell him that. The princess look suits you by the way."

The former pink ranger nodded and and twirled around before shrugging. "I didn't really know what costume to pick and since I've already played evil princess, I thought I'd give good a try."

Taylor smiled as Karone turned to her companions and introduced them beginning with Leo who was dressed as a knight with a red and black sigil emblazoned on his chest. "I've heard a lot about you," she revealed as she shook his hand. "Cole will be thrilled to see you, he's been waiting to compare notes on Lion zords."

"Oh you're from Cole's team. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, Taylor is the Wild Force Yellow Ranger," Karone revealed.

"It's always nice to meet a fellow ranger, especially yellows," said the brunette wearing a pale blue dress with a white pinafore pattern and a matching headband, before introducing herself as Maya.

"And lastly we have…"

"Commander Corbett," Taylor acknowledged, the tallest of the foursome, dressed in a black pinstripe suit with a pale gold tie, as familiar dark eyes stared at her from under a matching fedora.

"Lieutenant Earhardt," he acknowledged.

"It's Captain now, actually," she shot back.

"Of course it is."

Karone, Leo and Maya looked from Taylor to Mike and back again with furrowed brows. "You two know each other?" asked the blonde.

"We were stationed together before he signed up for the Terra Venture project," Taylor explained before turning back to Mike. "Myers mentioned you were working on S.P.D too but I didn't think I'd be seeing you here."

"It was a little last minute but the minute Andros told Wes we were on Earth…"

"He insisted you come," she completed. "I'm familiar with Wesley's ways of getting what he wants. Come on, everyone's this way."

"So how many people are at this thing?" asked Maya as she stepped up beside her, her hands fidgeting with the front of her skirt.

Taylor offered her a smile and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Relax, it's just us rangers and significant others of rangers. Wes loves a good party but he does know how where to draw the line… sometimes. Besides, from what I hear you'll find a couple of familiar faces in there."

"It'll be fine," Mike added, taking her hand in his own as they walked into the room now buzzing with chatter and the gentle hum of 'Monster Mash'.

"Leo! Guys! Hey!"

They were greeted by a tall figure dressed in shabby pants and loose brown jacket worn over padded shoulders, sporting a painted green face with stitches, bolts sticking out of either side of his neck and a wig that didn't quite fit. "Joel?" asked Leo as the figure got closer.

"Yup. Cool huh?" he added as he spun around showing off his costume. "It's so cool you guys could make it. Aren't Damon and Kendrix with you?"

Leo shook his head and explained that they were working on a project and couldn't get away and that he had tagged along because his brother was visiting S.P.D and wanted to show Maya more of their home world.

"Well I hope this time you can enjoy it without having to run after aliens," said a slim brunette as she joined them, looping her arm through Joel's. She was dressed in a long white lab coat over a brown leather apron and sported rubber gloves and boots with a pair of goggles sitting on her head.

"That is the plan," said Mike as he wrapped an arm around Maya's shoulders.

"Well let's go find Carter and Dana, they'll be thrilled to see you," the former green ranger exclaimed as he ushered them towards a group standing by the window. Karone however declined. "You guys go ahead I should find my brother before he does send out a search party."

"There you are!"

Taylor turned around to find Alyssa and Danny walking towards her, one dressed in a yellow, Victorian-style dress with laced up boots and a safari hat while the other donned a hooded white sheet with a white mask resting on his head. "I was beginning to think you ran out on us."

"No, just needed to check on something," she revealed as she tucked her phone back into her pocket.

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded as she gently pulled Danny's mask down so that it now covered his face. "For now," she reassured him. "Where did your other halves run off too?"

To her surprise, they sighed before Danny pointed to the buffet table where in looked like Tarzan was trying to stop an argument between a zombie and a woman with long dark hair dressed in a balck one strap top with fitted leather pants and booths. "Max insists that Kendall's costume isn't a real costume," he explained, while Alyssa folded her arms as she stared at the trio. "Honestly, I think Piper from the Charmed Ones is a really creative idea. A modern sexy witch is kind of empowering, don't you think?"

Taylor's answer was quelled when the music softened and the lights flickered before turning off completely, leaving the luminaries to shine on their own. The blue-ish glow of a spotlight caught everyone's attention and the whispers that filled the room moments before quietened as Wes took centre stage.

"Good evening everyone," he announced in his accent. "Thank you for coming tonight, now that we're all here the festivities can begin. So, here's to a haunting night."

"Are we all here?" Alyssa whispered as she leaned while joining the other guests in applause. Taylor's eyes dropped to her watch before reluctantly bringing her hands together. "You're guess is as good as mine."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and share your thoughts.

Now that the rangers are all dressed up, it's time for a little craziness to ensue.

Till next time...


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, thanks so much for all the reviews, they are most appreciated.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 4: _The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of_**

"Are you seriously thinking of taking up his offer, or was this just your way of torturing me?" Eric asked the elder man standing beside him as they watched the balck mercedes drive out of Silver Guardians HQ.

"If I wanted to torture you, I'd insist you join me at the party Giles is throwing tonight," Allan pointed out as they turned to walk back inside. "The proposal may not sound interesting but it does concern the Guardians. Which is why I will not be taking a decision without including the two of you. It was only fair that at least one of you hear them out before we go any further."

"Or this is your way of trying to teach me more about the business side of things."

"I won't apologize for that," Allan countered as they entered the lobby. "I know you're not interested in it but it will be good for you to have an insight, even if it's just to give Wes advice when he needs it."

Eric studied the elder man's face, he was a lot better at lying than Wes was but he'd spent enough time with him to know when he was up to something. The tell-tale curl of his lip and the mischievous glint in his eyes were proof enough. But his companion didn't give him the chance to dig deeper. "I do apologize though for pulling you away today," he interjected. "They're your teammates too, I feel bad you didn't get to spend time with them."

"Don't," he countered, turning away to take in the nearly empty lobby. "They'll always be more his friends than mine. And like you said one of us had to be here."

He blinked when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder but kept his eyes on the wall. "They are your friends Eric, you might not share the same relationship with them as Wes does, but they are your friends, don't ever forget that." He stood still for a moment before his eyes dropped to the floor and he nodded his head, offering Allan a half smile as he turned to face him.

"Yes Sir."

"You should probably head straight to the mansion, that way you can spend some time with them before everyone else joins in."

Eric groaned. "I'm trying not to think about tonight. Leave it to your son to take things too far."

"Well you're always welcome to join me. No costumes required and I'm sure Selena will be thrilled to see you changed your mind," Allan offered with a chuckle.

"I'll pass. I don't know who'll kill me first if I skip out tonight - Wes or Taylor?"

"Neither, Wes will annoy you until you kill either him or yourself and Taylor will make you wish she'd killed you. Which is probably why you shouldn't keep either of them waiting."

"I just need to sign off on a couple of things and then I'm out of here. I'll see you later tonight, you're not going to want to miss out on the main event."

"I need to speak to Commander Myers."

A woman's voice stopped Allan from replying as they both turned their attention to the receptionist's desk where a young woman in a police uniform was arguing the woman at the desk. "I'm sorry but unless you tell me why I can't help you."

"You won't understand. I need to speak to Commander Myers urgently." She ignored the receptionist and swiveled around the desk only for a path to be blocked by a guardian.

"Looks like you're in demand today," Allan chuckled as he gave him a gentle pat on the back. "I'll leave you deal with that. See you tonight."

Eric offered the elder man wry smile, watching him walk down the corridor before taking a deep breath and making his way to the desk. "I'll take it from here Tate."

"Commander" the officer man saluted while the police officer turned to stare at him, dark green eyes wearing him down from above a pointed nose.

"Why don't you make sure everything's inorder for Monday. I'll handle this."

The guardian cast a wary glance at the woman beside him clutching a folder in her hand but nonetheless saluted and walked away. Eric nodded for the woman to follow him and led her to his office. "What can I help you with Officer…?"

"Greene," she supplied as she slid into the seat across from him and pulled her hat off her head revealing dark locks pulled back into a tight bun.

"Officer Greene," he repeated, leaning back into his chair. "To what do I owe this visit? SHPD usually calls ahead when they need help on a case."

Her eyes flickered to the side as she placed the folder on the desk, her hand resting on top of it. Eric watched her for a moment but when she didn't speak he leaned forward, resting his head on his hand as he pulled out his phone. "You seemed pretty determined to come and talk to me, so I assume this is important, especially if you came here without clearing it with your bosses."

Her eyes snapped up to meet his, he tilted his head knowingly but didn't say a word. She continued to watch him, eyes searching for something until her lips pressed together and she slid the folder across to him. He quirked an eyebrow but pulled it closer and flipped through it. "You're right, I didn't exactly clear this with my supervisor but that's only because I knew he wouldn't understand. In that file are robberies that have taken place sometime between 12 a.m and 12 p.m today."

Eric looked up from the file, lips curled to the side as he slid a list back to her. "A spice shop, a holistic living centre, a crafts store, a flower shop and a perfume store? It sounds like petty theft, this is not something the Guardians interfere with."

"But think of the timing, and what was stolen, doesn't any of that stand out to you?"

He struggled not to roll his eyes as he pulled out the list. "Candles, chalk, dried sage, dried lavender, Arum lilies, cedar, bergmot and jasmine perfumes, oh and a jack-o-lantern. It sounds like a Halloween prank to me," he stated as his eyes drifted to his watch.

"That's exactly what my supervisor would have said," she pointed out, her dry tone matching his own. "But all of these items are ritualistic. And all the robberies happening within twelve hours on Halloween, it can't be a coincidence. Someone is up to something."

Eric sighed and looked down at the file once again. "The only thing that suggests these robberies are connected are the two different . It looks like you're looking for two people, one that likes to burn things and the other who leaves a sprig of rosemary behind. Why rosemary?"

"It's supposed to ward off evil spirits and has a lot of other uses as well," she recited before catching herself and turning away, "So I've read."

He studied her for a moment, then closed the file. "Officer Greene what is going on here? You've gone through a lot of trouble to reach me for what looks like a couple of amateurs playing the Halloween card to scare some people for a thrill. If you have something you'd like to tell me, say it, otherwise I have somewhere I need to be."

She surprised him when she shot out of her chair and began pacing around the room. "I know what it looks like but strange things happen all the time. A few years ago if someone told you monsters would be wreaking havoc on the streets and giant robots would show up out of nowhere to take them down, you probably wouldn't have believed them either but it happened, almost every week. People believe in the impossible and sometimes the impossible comes true. I have a gut feeling that something sinister is going on and I came to you because you have experience with dealing with weird things and no one else will listen to me."

Eric frowned as he watched her, his eyes drifting to the folder and then to his watch. A weathered sigh escaped his lips as stood and pulled his jacket off the back of his chair. "Okay. let's go."

* * *

"All your pumpkin spice candles were stolen? That's oddly specific," Eric mused as he stood in the middle of the gift shop of the Liv4U holistic health centre. The store clerk just shrugged and continued stacking red candles on the empty table. "Well they were all out here on display," she explained. "You know keeping with the whole theme and everything, the other candles were way in the back but they weren't touched. It's a shame though, that was the last of our inventory - they're so popular this time of year. I guess we're just going to have to make do with apple and cinnamon until Christmas."

Eric shared a look with Officer Greene who only shrugged before he walked back to the door to examine the lock. "There were no signs of forced entry," he confirmed to which she nodded before the clerk chimed in. "Everything was fine when I came in this morning, the only thing out of place was the missing candle pyramid I spent all of yesterday stacking, oh and that sprig of rosemary that was left on the table. But we already gave that to the police."

"And nothing on the cameras?"

"Nope. I was so appalled I checked the footage myself before handing it off to the police of course," she pointed out looking at Officer Greene before turning her attention back to Eric. "But there was nothing out of the ordinary. It's almost like the thief just walked right through the door, took the candles and left, hmmm maybe it was a ghost."

"You think a ghost did this?" Officer Greene asked.

The young blonde just shrugged and picked up the empty box and turned away. "It's Halloween, anything is possible."

"That was completely useless," Officer Greene complained when they climbed into Eric's truck a few minutes later. "I can't believe she thinks a ghost did this. It's like she doesn't even care that someone broke into her store."

"It's not her store, she just works there," Eric pointed out as he picked a notebook off the dash and scribbled a few things in it. "I thought you believed in all this magic and mystical stuff? Isn't that why you're so sure there's something bigger going on here?"

"I..uh…"

"What about the rosemary?" he asked. "Anything special about it."

"Wha… oh no, not really, seems like an ordinary sprig… but the lab still needs to check it out but that could take a while," she added quickly.

"I see. It sounds almost like a calling card, expect it was only found in the stores with no obvious break in signs and the placement is random."

"Yeah… Can I ask you something?"

Eric placed the notebook back on the dashboard and nodded as he looked up the next store on the list. "You don't believe in this stuff, I mean, if you still think all this is a big joke why did you come with me?"

He secured his seatbelt, his gaze brushing over his watch before turning his attention to the street as he started the car. "You're right I don't believe in spells and rituals and stuff like that but you're little monologue reminded me of something."

"That you're a power ranger and dealing with weird stuff is part of the job description."

He spared her a look but quickly turned back to the road. "Ranger or not, dealing with the weird stuff will always be part of the job description. What I meant was, that you pointed out that people do believe in rituals and witchcraft and Halloween makes them do crazy things. I'm norworried about someone casting a spell, but what can happen when they do, like get high on fumes and burn down a house or worse, that's what gives people nightmares andI'd rather that didn't happen."

* * *

Eric stared at the familiar face flashing on his screen before tapping the red dot. As he put his phone away he spotted trick-or-treaters prancing about in the slowly darkening streets, through a shattered window. Of all the stores that had bit hit so far, nothing was as bad as Arome, the perfume store. The front window was shattered and glass littered the floor mixed with the fading scent of something that still made his nose scrunch. "I guess this is why people shouldn't mix perfumes," he commented as he turned away from the window and stepped further into the store.

"That is the first rule of aromachology," the proprietor informed as he joined them. "I still don't understand what you're doing here though. I already spoke to the police this afternoon."

"Yes, I know Mr. Mosse, however I just wanted to ask you a few questions, to speed up the process and catch whoever did this to your store," Eric explained.

"Of course Commander, anything I can do to help. It's not like there's much else I can do. I really hope you catch this sick person, I can't believe whoever it was vandalised my store for nothing."

"Nothing? I thought you reported something stolen?"

The lanky brunette turned to him with a look of exasperation. "A couple of perfume oils from my work bench yes, but all the bottles that were destroyed out here are worth 10 times that. At least they didn't bother with the cash in the register."

Eric turned to Officer Greene but she was staring out the window with an intensity he couldn't quite place while the man continued to rant on about how he was in the back when he heard the sound of the glass shattering. When he ran in the cashier desk was on fire, the whole place was filling up with smoke and his assistant was out cold. He got him out and called the fire department. It wasn't until much later when he was finally allowed inside that he noticed the vials missing from the back.

"None of this makes sense," he mused after they'd said goodbye to the store owner. "It's obvious that someone was looking for something specific but why destroy everything else. I mean the other places that had scorches were all straightforward, like the perp used an incendiary device to break in. This is just overkill."

"Maybe they were frustrated because they couldn't find it and were running out of time," his companion supplied.

"Running out of time for what?"

"Well, if what we suspect is correct and someone was collecting items for some kind of Hallow's eve ritual then maybe it had to be done at a specific time. Timing is pretty important in stuff like this."

He stared at her, unsure of what to make of casual way she talked about all this. What he did know was that they had nothing to go on apart from two, probably not in their right mind, perps with different collecting items and weren't concerned with money. The actual endgame or who their identities were still a mystery with no leads in sight. The cameras at every location proved useless and no one had seen anything. The woman at the Halley's Crafts even swore that her customers saw the items vanish into thin air. If the mutants were still around he'd know exactly whom to blame but they weren't behind any of this.

"Are you alright?"

He blinked and noticed that the police officer who had dragged him into this whole mess was staring up at him a wistful silence enveloping them. "I'm fine," he mumbled as he reached for his keys. "If you're right about the timing bit, this thing could have already happened and since the wire's been pretty quiet I guessing no calamities happened. Or they're waiting for midnight which means we still have some time to figure this out."

As they stepped onto the curb a woman in long flowing blue dress with platinum hair flying behind her stalked came around the corner and stalked up to him, her eyes blazing as she demanded, "Where are my dragons?"

"Excuse me."

"My dragons, where are they?"

Eric took a step back and before he could figure out what to say to her a burst of flames shot into the sky in the distance. "You maybe you want to try over there," he suggested.

She glared at him for a moment before making an impatient sound and storming off. "Looks like someone's taking being in character a little too seriously," Officer Greene suggested as they watched the woman disappear down the block.

"Is that was that was?" he asked as walked around to the driver's side. A shrill cry cut through the air and he immediately reached for his Quantum Defender as what looked like a scarecrow and a man in some kind of tin suit came running down the street with a roaring lion hot on their heels. They watched with wide eyes as the trio ran past them quickly followed by a small yapping dog.

"Was that people trying to stay in character too?" Eric demanded as he reached for the radio in his truck.

"Well not completely in character, the lion is supposed to be cowardly," she commented with a shrug.

"What?" Eric demanded, staring at her completely befuddled before shaking his head and calling in the rogue lion. He was about to take off after it himself when he felt a tug on his arm and found himself being pulled behind the car beside Officer Greene who was crouched down and peering around the side.

"What are you doing?" he hissed but she just shushed him. He leaned forward to get a look at what she was looking at but pulled back when he noticed the mini army of little green men in spacesuits running out of the bushes. A chorus of undecipherable words filled the air, accompanied by a storm of footsteps, growing louder and louder until the sound began to fade. Hand on the trigger, Eric stood but the only thing he saw was their tiny retreating backs.

"What the hell is going on?"

His answer came from his radio exploding with calls about sightings of strange creatures, disturbances in the streets and unexplained attacks. He turned to Officer Greene who looked just as alarmed as he was and told her to get in the car as he slid into the driver's seat just as morpher started beeping. "Hello?" he answered, bringing the communicator to his lips.

"Oh Eric, thank goodness," a familiar voice rang out.

"Circuit?"

"Yes, I finally managed to get through to you."

"What's going on Circuit?"

"You need to come to Wes' house, it's the rangers they're all acting very strange and they seem to have forgotten who they are."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks so much for all the reviews.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 5: _What I've Become Part I_**

Eric slammed the breaks and tore out of his car, taking the stairs two at a time as he raced towards the Collins mansion, shoving the front door open and blindly rushing inside until his body collided with another.

"Sorry…." he mumbled, as he stumbled back and reached out to grab the other person's hand to keep them from falling. But he froze and instantly let go of the hand in his grasp as he looked up to see the person he'd run into.

Standing before him was a blonde in a blue and white dress with big blue eyes blinking up at him. "Uh…" he stared at her, eyes narrowing as he tried to identify her while simultaneously running the guest list through his head.

"Have you seen a white rabbit?" she asked, her hands knitted together.

"Maya?" he inquired, ignoring her question as he pinpointed the only person at the party he hadn't met before but she shook her head.

"I'm Alice," she replied innocently. "I'm looking for a white rabbit. He's wearing a red coat and was probably looking at a big, round pocket watch. Have you seen anywhere? "

His lips curled into a frown as images of the creatures he had seen on the way over, including white rabbits, flashed through his mind. When he didn't answer she continued, "I've never been to this part of Wonderland see, and I can't find the hatter or Cheshire or anyone. The rabbit is the only one who can help me get home."

Her eyes flitted past him to the door before he took a step to the left, blocking her view. "Try the basement, rabbits like to hang out there," he offered.

A bright smile adorned her face as she nodded enthusiastically and thanked him before running off. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he doubled back to make sure the door was locked. If what happened to his friends was the same as what was happening outside, there was no way he could let them loose on the streets.

Satisfied that the basement, if she found it, would keep Maya occupied for a while he made his way to the ballroom, treading more cautiously than before. Somehow, people across the city had transformed into whatever or whoever they dressed up as but more than that, they really believed it. And added to the list of crazy things that were happening was the fact that Officer Greene had vanished when he looked up from his morpher. But he didn't have time to worry about her, the only thing he was focused on was finding Circuit, because hopefully his robotic ally had a way to fix this.

A loud cry echoed through the hallway and he picked up the pace but stopped in the doorway of the dimly lit room when he saw someone swinging on the banisters. He blinked as he watched the grown man wearing little more than a loin cloth swing from one window to the next using the curtains but as he grabbed the material it ripped sending him crashing to the floor.

"Tarzan!"

The gentle cry caught Eric's attention and he turned to see a petite woman dressed in a yellow dress run to the fallen curtain-swinger who was already picking himself up. "Are you alright?" the woman cooed receiving only a grunt in response. He could barely see them but Alyssa's voice was unmistakable, even with the British accent, which meant "Tarzan" had to be Cole. Satisfied that he was still alive and in good hands, he backed away wondering where they rest of the crew were.

"C'mon Circuit, where are you?" he grumbled as he fidgeted with his morpher, blindly walking down the corridor until a red blur brushed past him forcing him to back into the nearest room. The sound of weapons clicking had him reaching for his Quantum Defender as he slowly turned around to find Mike and Andros with cropped hair sitting at the poker table in Allan's den guns raised while a red-haired Ashely pointed hers at him from behind the bar.

Relaxing his hold on his weapon he raised his arms in surrender. "Sorry about that didn't mean to interrupt your game."

"Who are you?" Ashley demanded as she joined the gentlemen at the table, holding a bottle of scotch with one hand and her gun with the other.

"Just a guy who walked into the wrong room."

"You have a very fancy weapon for someone who walked into the wrong room," Ashley pointed out.

"Goes with the territory."

"Fed?" asked Mike sitting up in his seat.

"No, it's not so different from what these two do," he nodded towards Ashley and Andros. "And it's my night off, so I'm not here to crash the party, just to find a friend of mine," he added.

The three of them shared a look before Ashley turned back to him holding his gaze before shrugging and setting down her gun as he lowered herself into a seat and asking Mike to deal.

"Care to join us?" Andros asked in a heavy British accent as he holstered his gun and relaxed into his seat.

"Sounds tempting but…

"Eric! There you are, C'mon we need you."

He stared at Danny who had poked his head through the door before excusing himself and following after. "Thanks I…." The words died on his lips as his eyes widened. Danny was dressed in regular street clothes a black T-shirt over jeans and sneakers, but as he stared at the former black ranger he realised he was also staring at the wall behind him. "Uh… Danny?"

"I know," the bespectacled man sighed as he examined his own hands. "I'll explain later, we need to go now." Without another word he rose into the air and floated down the corridor. "This is going to be a long night,"Eric mumbled to himself as he followed after.

His brow furrowed as Danny led him through the back door but the sound of clashing metal immediately drew his attention to the pool where a pirate and a knight were matching swords while a robotic blue hovered between them pleading with them to stop. "What's going on here?" he asked Danny before he almost got the wind knocked out of him by someone running into him.

He steadied himself as he looked down to see a blonde woman, in puffed, pink ball gown huddled against his chest. "Carter and Leo are fighting for the princess," Danny supplied, trying to hide the smile at the awkward way he was trying to push her away from him.

"Karone?"

"You have to help me," she cried, blue eyes clouded with fear as she looked up at him. "That fiend is after me." She nodded towards Carter to leapt over a pool chair and swung his curved blade with his lips stretched into a cocky grin. It was an unusual sight, especially for Carter, the baggy pants and long hair were hard to turn away from but as Leo struck back with this rapier, Eric forced himself to deal with the situation in his hands.

"Okay Karone why don't you go hide inside the house," he suggested, taking a step away from her.

"Oh no," she cried, "That place is filled with beasts. If my little friend hadn't come to my rescue that gruesome ghoul would have made a meal out of me".

"I think she means Max," Danny offered. "He's a zombie."

"Okay but what does she mean by little friend…" he trailed off as Karone turned, the sway of skirt revealing a robot with a domed head turning from right to left. "Is that the robot from Star Wars?"

"Actually that's Trip, but yeah Wes got him an R2D2 costume," Danny supplied.

"Brilliant," he grumbled as Circuit finally spotted him and flew over. "Eric! Am I glad to see you, everyone's acting so strange."

"It's not just them Circuit, it's happening all over town. But first things first, we need to stop those two before they actually do some damage."

"I tried but they won't listen. They just called me a foul beast and told me to get away."

"Oh dear thing, do not heed their words. You are the most unusual and precious thing I have ever laid eyes on," Karone soothed as he glided over and took him in her arms.

A loud splash caught their attention and Karone squeaked, throwing Circuit into the air before darting behind Eric as Carter shoved Leo into the pool and stood over him laughing as he watched the knight flail around in the water. "I didn't know Carter could make that sound," said Danny.

"That makes two of us," Eric replied before glancing back at Karone who was still cowering behind him. "Danny the pool house is down there, take Karone and," he glanced at the robot spinning in place beside them, "And Trip there and lock the door, they should be safe."

"Sure, but what about those two?"

"Leave it to me," he declared as he reached for his Quantum Defender.

Karone took some convincing but eventually followed Danny, but not before casting a wary glance towards the pool. Drawing his weapon but still pointing it towards the ground, Eric slowly made his way down the stairs towards the pool. Carter's voice floated towards him as he taunted Leo who from the sound of all the splashing was still struggling to stay afloat.

His boot brushed against against one of the pots making a soft rumbling sound but it was enough for the laughter to stop as Carter wheeled around pointing his sword at him, "Arrgh, who goes there?"

It was the first time he was standing face-to-face with Carter's transformation, his face was that of the ranger he knew but as he took in the beard, eyepatch and the glint of gold coming from his teeth, he had to fight not to smile. The pirate however, did not find him amusing. "Are ye friend or foe?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he took a step forward.

"That depends on how you feel when you wake up."

Carter cocked his head to the otherside, his lips curling into a frown as he took another step forward. Eric didn't hesitate as he raised his weapon and fired a quick shot that him straight in the chest, dropping him to his knees before he fell to the side, his sword clattering to the ground. He spared a second to check that Carter was really out cold before dashing towards the pool where Leo had finally managed to grasp the wall and reached out to help him pull himself out of the water. "Many thanks kind sir," Leo sputtered as he braced himself on all fours.

"You're welcome," Eric replied as he stood and took aim, firing a shot at Leo in the back, forcing him to fall flat on his face. By the time Danny and Circuit joined him again he had dragged both of them to a corner and bound their hands and feet with the chord from the floaters.

"Did you shoot them?" Danny asked when his eyes found the Quantum Defender resting on the ground beside him while he secured the knot around Leo's wrists.

"Stun mode," he replied as he holstered his weapon and joined them. "Now will someone please tell me what is going on here? And how do you still remember who you are? Clearly you were affected by this… well whatever this is."

"I have no idea either, one minute we were listening to Wes give this speech and the next my costume is on the floor and everyone's going crazy. I mean Max and Joel actually turned into monsters it was freaky. Then I fell through the floor and by the time I figured out how this works and got back to the ballroom, everyone was gone. Well except for Cole, he was trying to climb up the curtains."

"That I walked into. That doesn't explain how you are aware of what's happened to you while everyone else is well, like that," he pointed out glancing over at Leo and Carter who remained motionless.

"I think it's because Danny chose to be a ghost and not a specific character," Circuit explained as he perched on the edge of a pool chair. "Like everyone else he transformed into his costume but he just became the ghost version of himself with his human memories. In some cases, like Karone their true histories are mixed up with their new persona. She thinks she's the princess of KO-35 and is looking for her brother. As for the rest, like Lucas and Trip they've become the character they dressed up."

"Powers included," Danny added. "Lucas was zipping around the house wondering how to get back to Central City until I told him he was here chasing Catwoman who was upstairs stealing paintings."

"Catwoman?"

"Nadira."

Eric stepped away, eyes focused on the water as he replayed everything in his head. "That really doesn't make things less complicated. But seriously, didn't anything strange happen before you guys transformed? No flashes of light, funny sounds, even a weird vibration?"

"Uh-uh" Danny shook his head. "Like I said, one minute stading on the ground, next I'm floating. It would be kinda cool if it didn't mean that I was technically dead. I bet Tay would be little jealous though."

Eric's eyes widened and he turned to his companion. "Danny where's Tay? Or Jen and Wes for that matter."

"Haven't seen them. Why?... Oh…" his expression turned grim as he caught on before Eric ran right through him, scrambling up the stairs to get into the house.

"What's going on?" Circuit chirped as Danny followed and urged him to hurry along. "Wes and Jen dressed up as vampires," he explained.

"So?"

"And Taylor is a vampire slayer."

* * *

That's it for now. Please review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews.

To those of you getting the Buffy vibe, like I mentioned in the introduction to first chapter this story is inspired by Halloween episode, so yes the similarities are there but it will take a turn down a more power rangery path soon.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 6: _What I've Become Part II_**

Taylor carefully placed one foot in front of the other as she made her way along the carpeted hallway, a firm grip on the wooden stake in her hand and eyes wide open, shifting ever so slightly from left to right with every step. When she got to the end of the hallway, her eyes fell on the last door which was open just a fraction. She pressed herself against the wall and strained her ears to listen for any sign of movement.

She heard it, the faintest flutter of a cape and slammed the door open as leapt inside, raising the stake. But the only thing she was faced with was a dark room. Undeterred she stepped inside, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of her prey. "I know you're in here," she called out. "You might as well give it up and get it over with. I'll try not to make it hurt… too much."

A cold hand grabbed the hand holding the stake and another wrapped around her torso, pinning her free hand to her side as she was enveloped in a cape. "Ah… but that doesn't sound like much fun," a smooth voice whispered as cold lips gently brushed over her ear. A shiver ran down her spine and she struggled to break free, but he simply tightened his grip on her. "Now, now, there's no need to make this any harder than it has to be, then again, that is what makes my prize so much sweeter." His lips traveled down from her ear, skimming over her skin until they found her exposed neck. The stake slipped through her fingers and she felt him smile against her skin before he placed a soft kiss and then pulled his head back.

A gowl echoed in her ears as his fangs were exposed but she simply slid her leg forward before pulling her right arm free and startling him. It gave her the space she needed to turn out of his grasp before grabbing his hand and flipping him over. Blue eyes scanned the floor for the stake but before she had a chance to grab it he was back on his feet and rushing towards her with arms raised and fangs bared. She kicked out at him but he grabbed her foot forcing her to jump into the air with a spin kick to break free.

As she landed on the ground he sped towards her striking her across the face, sending her stumbling back. She brushed her hand over the scratch on her cheek and stood her ground, grabbing the arm he swung at her and punching him in the gut before aiming a kick to his head. He stumbled back giving her a chance to jump into the air and ram her feet into him before summeraulting back as he crashed into a desk. Scanning the floor once more she found her stake and grabbed it before running towards him.

He rose to his feet, the lines chiseled over his face receding and the darkness around his eyes fading as he raised his cape over the lower half of his face as gleaming red orbs turned a pale shade of blue. She raised the stake aiming for his heart when her eyes met his and her body froze. She tried to fight it, to turn away but couldn't move her body. He lowered his cape and stepped forward, lips stretching into a smile. "It appears my thrall works differently on you my sweet. You continue to surprise me." He trailed a finger across her cheek until he grabbed her chin and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. His hand brushed her jacket untangling the necklace that was caught in the teeth of her zipper. As the silver cross fell back into place the light from the doorway bounced off it forcing to back away with a hiss. It was enough to break his hold on her but before she could lunge forward he froze before bending over and falling to the ground. She looked up at the doorway where a tall dark figure stood holding a now mangled antique lamp in his hand. "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

Eric blinked when he saw Taylor standing in the room, wooden stake raised and ready to attack. She was shorter than he remembered and her hair was different too, flatter and longer, but apart from that she didn't look all that different, allowing him to release the breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Hello, tall, dark and silent," she called out lowering the stake and waving her free hand in front of his face. "What do you think you're doing?"

He looked down at his feet where Wes lay in a crumpled heap, blonde hair now raven black and skin pale and putrid. "Uh… getting rid of Count Dracula," he offered.

"What are you, a wannabe slayer?"she challenged. "Well we don't knock vampires out, we stake 'em, turn 'em to dust so they can't wake up and try to drink our blood." She crouched down and and raised the stake ready to strike.

"Don't!" he cried, squatting as he reached out to grab her hand, before dropping his gaze to Wes. She pulled her hand out of his grasp as she stood and took him by surprise when she lashed out with a powerful kick that sent him flying into the wall.

He groaned as he sank to the ground, the lamp rolling out of his hand but before he could pull himself together she marched over to him and grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air, back pressed against the wall. "Who are you? What are you?" she demanded.

Blinking back his surprise he looked down into determined blue eyes as his hands grasped her wrists. The spark that had become so familiar was cold and indifferent, it wasn't Taylor. Words failed him and his hands fell loosely to his sides. "I'll ask you again, who are you?" she demanded once more, pushing him back into the wall.

"A friend," he gasped. "I'm trying to help."

"A friend wouldn't try to stop me from dusting a vampire. You haven't gone all vamp mode on me yet, so I'm guessing you're not one of them. So either you tell me what you want or I find out what happens when a stake goes through your heart."

"Buffy stop!"

They both turned around to see Danny floating towards them with Circuit in tow. "He's not the bad guy," he explained but she just narrowed her eyes at him with no inclination of loosening her grip.

"I'm Danny and he's Eric, you can trust us. We were sent by the Watcher's Council, Giles asked for our help because something very strange is going on here."

Eric stared at the former black ranger, he had no idea what or who he was talking about but that last name had an effect on Taylor as she lowered him to the ground, her grip however did not wane.

"The council? Giles? Where is he?"

Concern filled her voice and he prayed Danny knew what he was going. He didn't know how "Buffy" would react if someone she cared about was in trouble but if it was anything like Taylor there would be hell to pay if he said the wrong thing.

"He's back in Sunnydale and he's fine," Danny added. "You're in Silver Hills, so he asked us to come help you deal with whatever's going on."

"By knocking out a vampire and not letting me dust him? And what are you exactly?"

"Oh I'm a ghost, well not really just like he's not really a vampire, he just thinks he's one."

"Those fangs are real, trust me."

Danny turned to him for help but all he could do was shrug. It was difficult not to know who Buffy was but the finer details of the show were beyond him. With a sigh the ghost turned back to his teammate.

"Would you believe that a witch cast a spell that turned people into monsters, but they're not really monsters, so we can't kill them and have to figure out who's behind this to put things back to normal?"

* * *

"How did you know what to say?" Eric asked Danny as they followed Taylor down the stairs.

"Huh? Oh that... I asked Circuit to hack into my phone and dig up some details. I figured that it was the only way to get through to her. I thought it might be a good idea to get her on our side, you know since we don't really know what we're up against. Besides, Taylor out to get us is scary enough, but super powered Taylor who thinks it's her job to rid the world of monsters and doesn't know who we are, is way, way worse."

"Sure," he grumbled as he watched the blonde in front of him. "She's a lot of help."

"Buffy" had bought Danny's story about the witch and finally agreed to trust and help them find out who was responsible for whatever was happening. But refused to help him lock Wes in a closet. She insisted that he was a vampire and would be able to break out as soon as he woke up and the thirstier he was, the faster it would be.

"She can't help be that way, just like Wes can't help be a vampire," Danny offered. "She looks like Taylor but until we figure this out we're not, she's not."

"Don't worry, I'm very aware of that."

"So how do we fix this?" Taylor's voice floated back to them but they only stare back in return. When she didn't get an answer she turned around and narrowed her eyes. "If the Council sent you then they must have a way to fix things, reverse the spell or whatever."

"No one knows how this happened. That's why we were sent to investigate," Eric bit out and forced himself to bite back the snarl that threatened to escape his lips when she rolled her eyes and turned away.

"She has a point though," Circuit chirped from his perch on Eric's shoulder. "Where do we start?"

He stopped at the foot of the stairs and sighed, he had been so focused on getting to the house to make sure everyone was okay, he didn't stop to think about how any of this could have happened in the first place. "What are the chances there is a witch or some kind of magic ritual behind all this?" he asked.

"Do you actually believe that?" asked Danny looking at him like he'd grown a second head.

He shot a look at Taylor who was examining the locked windows before turning back to Danny. "I don't know what I believe anymore. I did meet someone today who said some pretty strange things. I didn't take her seriously but now I'm wondering if she has a better handle on things than I do."

Danny frowned and turned to Circuit before looking over at Taylor who was wandering around the entryway. "Why don't you call her? It's not like we have any other leads."

Eric sighed before pulling out his phone, he hadn't gotten Officer Greene's number and from the state of things on the streets there wasn't going to be anyone left at the police station. But there was still one option he could try. "Hey Captain," he addressed the man on the line, thankful that he answered. "Sorry to bother you, I know things are going to hell right now but I'm trying to track down one of your officers who came to see me earlier today, Officer Greene,"

He stepped away from the others, turning away from the staircase, his brow furrowing as he listened to the elder man speak. "Really? Okay then, than…"

A feral growl was all the warning he got before something pounced on him, forcing him to drop his phone and knocking him to the floor and sending Circuit flying off his shoulder. They rolled around as he fought back but before he even realised what was happening Jen was straddling him, holding his arms down with impressive strength as she stared down at him, her face almost unrecognizable with deep lines marring her forehead and cheeks and her lips pulled back to reveal sharp fangs. He heard Danny and Circuit call his name but he froze as she lowered her lips to his neck.

Eric blinked as Jen, who was about to rip into his neck was pulled off him and tossed aside. He gasped and propped himself up, taking deep breaths as he watched Jen get to her feet, only this time she rushed at Taylor. The blonde easily blocked her strike and lashed out with a punch of her own. Jen took the hit and stumbled back before lunging forward once again with a vicious hiss.

"Eric are you okay?"

He looked up to see Circuit hovering near his head as Danny joined them and pushed himself onto his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine. This is all getting a little to real," he added rubbing his wrists where Jen had held him down.

A crash caught their attention and they turned to see Taylor be thrown into the railing but before Jen could attack again the blonde pulled herself up and used the stairs to vault behind her attacker, aiming a kick to her back. The brunette fell forward and rolled on the ground as Taylor pulled out her stake. She lunged forward, trapping Jen on the ground, just like the brunette had done to him a few seconds ago and lowered the stake towards her heart.

"Taylor No!"

* * *

That's it for now. Please review and share your thoughts.

The next chapter should be up soon.

Till next time...


	7. Chapter 7

Many thanks for all the reviews.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 7: _On A Whim And A Spell_**

A group of gremlins burst through a shop window, shattering the glass before they landed on the pavement with mischievous grins stretching across their faces. A blaring siren caught their attention but beady eyes remained focused on the flashing red and blue lights, ignoring the policemen that scrambled out of the car with their guns raised.

"Stop right there!" one of them called out.

As one the gremlins turned their heads towards him, grins widening revealing rows of pointed teeth as their ears flapped and clawed fingers wriggled. The policeman gulped, shifting the gun from one creature to the next as they took a step forward. Suddenly, they paused in their advance and beady eyes went wide as nervous clattering filled the air before they turned heel and scampered off into the night.

"What's gotten into the them?" he mumbled, turning to his partner who was facing the other way, all colour drained from his face. "Th… Th… that probably has something to do with it."

He whirled around and his grip on his gun tightened as he faced glowing red eyes bearing into him from behind pointed fangs belonging to the hairy beast standing on its haunches as a low growl emanating from its throat.

A shot rang through the air as the werewolf charged but it missed and the beast tackled him to the ground, his partner freezing where he stood.

Plum-painted lips curled into a wicked smile as emerald eyes swept over the streets below. The air was ripe with scent of ash and charr while the sound of roars, growls and yewols mixed with sirens and screams thundered all around. It was such sweet chaos and Callista was basking in it from her perch on a rooftop.

"It appears we may have underestimated the humans," Callico snarled as joined her, drawing her attention to a man wearing tights and a cape swoop in to rescue a policeman from a rampaging werewolf.

"A slight miscalculation," the redhead agreed. "But it doesn't interfere with what we came to do. The protectors of this world will be far too occupied with all of this, to pay attention to us. They shall not be a hindrance."

"But the veil?" Callico protested.

Callista smiled as she flicked her hair back and turned around, her eyes falling to the silver band around her wrist. "There was never any guarantees with the veil, it only knows what belongs to this world and what doesn't. Our spell has disturbed the balance a little but we do not know how it will affect the call. That's why we have a little insurance."

"Does it have to be so itchy though," Camyrn complained as she tugged at the band.

"Stop that," the redhead hissed, stepping forward to grab the blonde's hand. "That is the only thing that guarantees that we will not be pulled back in to our world at midnight. And since we could not find a third anchor, all our bands are tied to each other, if a single one breaks all three of us will be left vulnerable."

"But…"

"No buts Cam," Callico snarled, "I do not want to go back to that place. So you will not damage or break that. Do you hear me?" As she spoke her fist was enveloped in a flame that elicited a squeak from the shorter girl as she tugged her hand free and held it close to her chest.

"That's enough you two," Callista called as she walked over to the ledge once again. Time is precious tonight, do not waste it on irrelevant squabbles, our true task begins now. Soon these pretenders will learn the true meaning of power and we will finally be free."

The other two flanked her as they watched a building go up in flames and people scream as they ran out into the streets. "Go," Callista ordered, "It's time to fetch your new friends. I have an arrival to prepare for."

In swirls of smoke the three of them vanished into the night while chaos continued to reign on the streets below.

* * *

Officer Greene fiddled with her collar as she stepped up to the door of All Dressed Up, the silent witches stood guard on either side and the Closed sign hung clearly behind the door but the door offered no resistance, easily permitting her. Without batting an eye or sparing a moment to look around the store, she weaved around empty display cabinets and clothing racks, refusing to let the darkness slow her down until she found the backroom. She felt around for the light switch and flicked it on. Her eyes squinted as the room flooded with light but she kept kept moving forward through the maze of cardboard boxes until she reached the end of the room.

Her eyes scanned the floor as she crouched down and ran her hand across the floor. Thin lips curled into a smile when her hand caught the clasp and she stood, pulling the door to the basement open and revealing a flight of stairs. She descended into the darkness but as reached the bottom she pulled back, the lingering scent of spices taking her by surprise, but that's not all that was a miss. She expected to be welcomed by the warm glow of candles but was instead greeted by a cold green glare.

"Amara? Arista?" she called out as she stepped further into the room."Are you two down here?"

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the cauldron at the other end, revealing the source of the light. She cautiously took a step closer as she called out once again but all she heard was the echo of her own voice. As she scanned the room her eyes fell on a red stiletto sticking out from behind a stack of boxes.

Dark eyes widened as she scrambled towards it, cautiously stepping around the boxes. A loud gasp escaped her lips. "Amara! Arista!" she cried as he knelt beside the two women who lay unmoving. She reached for the brunette's hand and held up a wrist, placing two fingers against it and released the breath she was holding when she felt a pulse before reaching over to do the same for the blonde. But when she grabbed her hand, a silver band strapped around her wrist caught her eye and she immediately turned back to the brunette who was wearing a matching band around her wrist.

She pressed her lips together and turned away as she ran her fingers over the smooth metal before pushing herself to her feet. Stepping around the boxes she made her way towards the table behind the cauldron. In one corner was a slate square with circle drawn on it with runes within it, beside it was a scroll and box of pendants in different shapes and sizes. She picked up the scroll and ran her fingers across the calligraphy, a small smile finding its way to her lips before the empty bottles, vials and scraps of chalk caught her eye. She put down the scroll and examined the vials, her eyes widening as she read each label. Setting them down she sprang to the cauldron but inside was a jack-o-lantern, a green glow pouring out of every reached out to grab it but before her fingers touched it, a wave of energy was released knocking her back into the stack of boxes where she fell unconscious.

* * *

That's it for now. Please review and let me know what you think.

I know a lot you must be wondering what happened with Jen and Taylor but this chapter is an important break and we'll get to in the next one.

Till next time...


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks so much for the reviews.

A quick recap: Eric and Danny convinced Buffy a.k.a Taylor to help them but Eric was unexpectedly attacked by Jen before Taylor stepped in to fight her off, quickly gaining the upper hand and seconds away from driving a stake through her heart.

* * *

**Chapter 8: _Which Witch Is Which?_**

Eric ran, wide eyes focused on the stake that descended towards Jen's chest in slow motion as his cry fell on deaf years. He stumbled and almost tripped over his own feet when Taylor stopped, the stake a couple of inches over Jen's heart. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he steadied his footing but something was off. Taylor hadn't just stopped her attack on Jen, she stopped moving altogether, her body frozen in place. Jen too had stopped fighting back, her extended towards Taylor but otherwise unmoving.

"Danny, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

He whirled around when he didn't get an answer half expecting to find the ghost frozen as well and while he made no obvious movements the gentle bobbing of his ghosty form told that he was, for the most part, alright. Following his fixated friend's gaze he noticed the newcomer, a woman with long dark hair dressed in all black with her hands frayed out in front of her as she stared at Taylor and Jen.

"Kendall?"

"Technically yes," Danny offered as he turned away from her and floated towards him with Circuit in tow. They turned back to her, her wide eyes narrowing as she shifted her attention to them, lips pressing into a scowl as she marched towards them.

"What's going on here?" she demanded.

"Just your average slayer vs vampire fight," Danny shrugged while Eric blinked at her unflinching gaze as she talked to the ghost in front of her.

"Vampire?" She remarked as she studied the two women. "So I should let her kill it then."

"No!" the three of them shouted, making her jump back and pull the hands she hand raised closer to her chest.

"How did you do that anyway?" Eric inquired, ignoring the appalled glare she shot them.

"She's a witch," Danny supplied. "A Charmed One, who has the power to freeze things… or is it time?"

"Something like that" she nodded before turning back to the frozen duo. "Now we don't have a lot of time until they unfreeze so somebody better bring me up to speed."

Even as the words left her lips, a bright purple glow emanated from the necklaces that Taylor and Jen wore and grew larger until they were both engulfed in an orb of light.

"What's happening?" Eric asked as the three of them took a step back but Kendall looked just as surprised as they were.

"This has never happened before," she admitted.

The light receded back into the necklaces as both women shook their heads. Blue eyes met brown as Taylor's hand continued to fall towards Jen's heart before she caught herself and rolled off the brunette, throwing the stake aside, her breath coming in heavy bouts as her eyes searched her surroundings.

"That should not have happened," Kendall whispered. "We still had a couple of minutes before they unfroze," she revealed before examining her hands. But Eric wasn't listening to her, his eyes were focused on the two women in front of him, one groaning in pain as she pushed herself up and the other looking around lost and confused.

"What the hell Taylor?" Jen grumbled as she tried to sit up.

Eric's eyes widened and he turned to Danny who's expression mirrored his own while Circuit fluttered over to Jen. He looked over to the blonde who was looking from the stake she had tossed aside to her hand, opening and closing her fist, before cautiously making his way towards her. "Tay?" he asked as he knelt beside her.

Blue eyes blinked up at him, the haze fading and a spark he was all too familiar with glaring at him in full force. "It's about time," she snapped. "I was beginning to think you'd skipped town already. Did you forget how to answer a phone?..."

The rest of her tirade met an abrupt end when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, trapping her against his chest. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but when he felt her struggling against him he pulled back and offered her a smile as he helped her get on her feet.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked softly, her eyes filled with concern as she stared at him.

"You know who I am... right?"

She pulled her head back, eyes narrowing as her lips curled to one side. "Yes Myers, I know who you are. What I don't know is why you're looking at me like that? Or how I got here?" she added as she looked around the entrance hall.

"That makes two of us."

They turned around to see Jen on her feet as well dusting down her clothes as Circuit hovered near her chirping on about how happy he was that she was awake. "Awake? What are you talking about Circuit? And did you just try to kill me?" she added turning on Taylor.

"Uh… I'm not sure. What is going on?" she asked, turning to Eric who was still holding on to her.

"It's a long story Tay and I'm not sure you'd believe us if we told you," Danny piped in as he floated towards her. "I'm glad that you're you again though."

"What are you talking about Da… Dan? Why can I see through you?"

"Oh that's easy… I'm a ghost."

""Huh?" she turned back to Eric expectantly but all he could do was offer her half a smile while Circuit confirmed that it was true. "None of you are making any sense," Jen snapped. "Will someone please just tell us what's going on." She folded her arms across her chest but as she narrowed her eyes her face changed, deep lines running across her forehead and darkness filling her eyes as fangs protruded through her lips.

Eric let go of Taylor, shifting so that he was standing in front of her as she gasped. Jen seemed to have felt the change as she slapped her hands over her face, patting down her cheeks and necks until she came to her teeth and fiddled with her fangs. A loud shriek echoed around the room before Jen froze in place.

"What the… Kendall?"

At Taylor's question Eric turned to see Kendall join them, her arms raised just as they were earlier. "She looked like she was going to attack," the brunette explained but Danny had already drifted closer to take a better look. "Okay, she's still a vampire but she knows whos she is," he stated sharing a look with Eric before they both turned to Taylor whose eyes were fixated on Jen as she opened and closed her mouth but no words came out.

"Tay do you feel any different?" he asked softly, forcing her to look at him

"What do you mean different?"

"You know, super strong, heightened senses that kind of thing," Danny prompted earning a wide-eyed glare from his teammate. She opened her mouth to speak but the bright purple light surrounding Jen stole her attention and rendered her speechless once again.

"Why does that keep happening?"Kendall huffed as the light receded and Jen unfroze and looked around wildly as low growls escaped her lips.

"It's because she's wearing a protection charm."

The new voice startled all of them and drew their attention to the staircase as the newcomer slid down the banister and landed perfectly at the foot of the stairs. Dressed in a simple red boatneck top with a black skirt, boots and a black headband keeping short blonde locks in place was another familiar face.

"Da...uh... Who are you?" asked Eric, ignoring the strange look Taylor was giving him.

"Sabrina Spellman," she replied. "And you might want to do something about your undead problem before you ask me anything else."

He turned his attention back to Jen who was breathing harder and haunching as she bared her fangs at them. "Jen," he called out making her focus on him and take a step closer, this time he didn't back off. "I know you're really confused right now but you need to calm down, just relax and you'll turn back."

She growled and lashed out but he stood his ground, meeting her dazed eyes as he spoke. "Trust me Jen, you're going to be alright, just try to relax."

She paused and held his gaze for a moment before closing her eyes, slowly the lines smoothened out, the area around her eyes relaxed and her fangs receded. "How did you know that would work?" Circuit asked but he simply mumbled that he didn't.

"Jen," Taylor whispered but Eric spoke over her asking Jen if she was okay and still remembered who she was. She nodded and shared a look with Taylor but before either could say a word, he addressed Dana.

"Uh… Sabrina, you were saying something about a protection charm?"

"Yes, she's wearing one," she gestured to Jen, who immediately reached for a necklace, before turning to Taylor. "And so is she. They're not very powerful, the kind of thing that can protect you from car crashes, mining accidents and wayward spells. That's why your freezing spell doesn't hold," she added to Kendall.

"And how do you know that?" asked the brunette folding her arms as she scowled at the blonde.

"Because I'm a witch and I've cast enough protection spells to be able to sense them by now," she stated before turning to Eric. "By the way, did you know there's a ghost beside you."

He turned to Danny who only shrugged. "Don't worry about him, he's the friendly kind."

"In my experience, they usually aren't."

"That's enough!" Taylor yelled as she rounded on Eric. "What the hell is going on Myers?" she demanded, her hands clenching into fists as she glared at him.

"I'd like to know too," Jen added as she joined her.

Eric turned to Danny and told him to stay with the witches as he ushered Taylor and Jen into the sitting room asking Circuit to follow.

* * *

A gentle sigh escaped Taylor's lips as she stared out of the window as Eric and Circuit told their story. It all sounded so surreal, like something out of a Halloween special on TV, yet she could recall nothing between listening to Wes' speech and finding herself inches away from stabbing her friend. Her eyes drifted to her hand, remaining fixated on her fingers while Jen lashed out at the absurdity of it all.

"Do you seriously expect us to believe any of that?" she questioned, brown eyes blazing as she her fingers clenched.

"It's true Jen," Circuit chirped, "Trip's even turned into a robot."

"Jen would I really cook up an elaborate story like that? But you don't have to believe me, go out there and see for yourself," Eric bit out, his patience waning.

"He has a point," Taylor voiced as she joined them. "Eric Myers just said all of that with a straight face and not eye roll to boot, he does believe it. That's still a little hard to digest by the way," she added, sparing him a glance.

"I'd say it's been a weird night, but that would be an understatement," he grumbled.

"But Taylor…"

"Think about it Jen, we don't remember anything after Wes' speech, then there's the fact that I literally saw you turn into a vampire. And you feel different, don't you? Because I sure do." Her voice wavered as she clenched her fingers as Jen fell silent and looked down at her own hands, which were a lot paler than they were a few hours ago.

"I'm a vampire," the brunette stated before her eyes widened and she turned to Eric. "Oh God I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"Not that we know of," Circuit chirped. "You did attack Eric though."

Taylor's eyes immediately flashed in his direction but he was already assuring them that he was fine and that the slayer stepped in at the right moment. "That explains why you were trying to kill me," the brunette offered while she just shook her head as she crossed the room and trailed her eyes over Eric's face and neck looking for signs of injury.

"I'm fine," he repeated, taking her hands in his.

Her shoulders relaxed but her eyes never left his. "I'm kind of glad I decided to mess with Wes," she admitted.

"Oh no! Wes!" Jen exclaimed, drawing their attention. "He's a vampire too and he's out there, he could hurt someone."

"Actually he had a run in with the slayer too," he revealed but neither woman looked comforted by that and he gulped as he felt Taylor's grip tighten around his hands. "You can relax," he added. "She almost got him but I knocked him out in time and locked him up upstairs."

"You locked up a vampire? You do realise he has the strength to break through."

"Don't go there," he warned. "Besides him getting out isn't the worst thing that could happen. There are things that are a lot worse than vampires roaming the streets right now."

Jen let go of the breath she was holding and began pacing around the room. "Okay we need to fix this, if this… thing affected everyone who wore a costume, how did you get us back?"

"Technically, you only got your consciousness back, you're still transformed," Circuit pointed out.

Eric nodded before pointing out that witch Dana said something about them wearing protection charms, that could be the reason. Their hands immediately flew to their necklaces as the former pink and yellow rangers shared a look. "If that's true, why didn't that keep us from being affected by… whatever this is in the first place?" the brunette challenged.

"You guess is as good as mine. But from I understood from our friendly witches is that it's pretty basic and Kendall freezing you might have activated them. You're going to have to ask them for specifics though."

"What about Danny, does he have a charm too?" Taylor interrupted.

"Actually, the big guy never lost consciousness, he just became a ghost version of himself." Jen opened her mouth but before she could speak he pointed out that he didn't know how it worked, all he was sure of was that something big was going on and they had to find a way to reverse it.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"I was hoping the witches could help with that."

Almost as if on cue, Danny poked his head through the door and asked if they were done because things were getting pretty heated outside. Taylor paused to look at her teammate who's torso was leaning in through the closed door, completely unfazed. It didn't seem to bother Eric too much either as he raced out with Circuit and Jen right behind him.

"Witchcraft has nothing to do with the devil," they heard Kendall screeched. "We're the good guys, we use our powers to protect people from demons. We don't worship them."

"Believe me I wish it worked like that," Dana countered, "But if you're a witch it means you walk the path of night, there's no two ways about it and I know this because I tried to fight it. And we definitely don't wave our hands for magic to happen, spells need to be carefully crafted with the right symbols and instruments."

Kendall cocked her head to the side as she turned to a vase placed by the window and threw her hands forward making it explode before turning back to Dana with a smug smile as she folded her arms in front of her. "Yes we can use spells and potions but every witch has her own power and a Whitelighter to help us. And they're basically angels."

"Angels?" Dana scoffed. "Trying selling that to my aunt Zelda."

"Hrmf," Kendall huffed. "Prue, Phoebe, where are you?"

"Are they the accomplices who help you with your parlour tricks?"

"I'll show you parlour tricks," Kendall raged, raising her hands just as Eric slid between them.

"That's enough," he ordered, as Danny floated to his side.

"You're both witches," the ghost assured them. "Just different kinds. It doesn't mean you have to fight. And we're all stuck in this mess right now and we have to work together not argue about who's a real witch and who's not."

"Danny's really into this stuff," Jen whispered to Taylor as they watched him try to talk to the other two. "Kendall and Alyssa are big fans of shows like this, you pick up a few things if you spend enough time with them," she shrugged.

"And speaking of witches, where's…"

A loud crackling laugh echoed through the entryway, making them all look around until they realised it was coming from above them. Hovering by the chandelier was a woman dressed in all black, complete with a pointed hat on her head, sitting on a broomstick. She threw her head back as another laughed poured from her lips while the broomstick slowly spiralled towards the ground. Thick curls bounced as she hopped off the broon, stepping on to the last stair as dark eyes swept over them.

"The spirit is right," she declared. "There is no argument about which of you is real witch. The only true sorceress here, is me." she leaned back and pointed to herself before grabbing her broom and taking a step towards them.

"Katie?" Jen whispered, moving forward but Taylor held her back. "Not really her," she reminded.

"Where did you come from?" Dana challenged.

"Where all true witches come from, the realm of magic. I suppose you are mortals who like to go about pretending that you are more on Hallow's eve."

"Who are you calling pretenders?" Kendall challenged. "If anyone looks like a Halloween witch it's you."

"Do not impose the corruptions of your world onto me," she snarled, leaning in close to Kendall and curling her fingers in a circle before pulling back. "Now begone, I have no business with mere mortals."

She turned to stride away but Taylor blocked her path, unflinching at the glare she received as she stood her ground. "Lucky for you, there are no mere mortals here."

Katie looked around the group and raised an eyebrow but Taylor wasn't fazed in the slightest, simply pointing out to Kendall and Dana who whether she agreed or not, were witches, before gesturing to Jen the vampire and moving on to Danny the ghost, Circuit the robot, Her the salyer and Eric the power ranger.

"What is that?"

"Oh look you don't know everything. Now if you'll just get off your high horse and listen to us, maybe we can help each other out. You help us fix this mess and we help you get back to your world."

Katie's frown instantly curled into a smile as she threw her head back and laughed. The others shared a look but Taylor continued to watch her. "Silly child," the witch admonished. "It is Hallow's eve, and just like your friend the spirit and the night walker, when midnight comes, the veil between worlds shall close and we shall all return to whence we came."

* * *

That's it for now. Please review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	9. Chapter 9

Happy Holidays everyone.

A big thank you for all the reviews and messages. Sorry to keep you waiting but the last couple of weeks have been a little overwhelming.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 9: _On The Clock_**

Silence echoed in the entrance hall of the Collins mansion as all eyes zeroed in on Katie who was still locked in a glaring contest with Taylor, a smug grin on her face. "But you didn't know that, did you my pretty?" she sneered as she leaned in before looking around at the motley crew gathered around her. "But I am surprised your little friends here didn't tell you, no one ventures into the mortal world without knowing this."

Kendall frowned as she turned to Dana who mirrored her expression while a wide-eyed Jen shared a look with Danny. Katie however simply smiled as she turned to walk away, stopping short when a hand grabbed the edge of her broom. She rounded on Taylor, dark eyes filled with anger but was met with a glare that equalled in intensity.

"Explain," the blonde demanded as she squeezed her fingers around the broomstick causing a small crack that made the witch hiss. She tried to pull it away but Taylor's grip held firm. When her glare had no effect on the blonde she let go of the broom and spun around to face the others.

"There's no need to vent your frustration on my broom," she huffed. "If it will help be rid of you nuisances I'll tell you."

"No one asked you to join us in the first place," Kendall grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. Katie's head snapped in her direction but Danny instantly floated between them hands raised as he pleaded that she didn't mean it and asked her to continue. Kendall opened her mouth to protest but the ghost turned around and shot her a glare that shocked her into silence.

Satisfied, Katie turned back to her audience, her eyes settling back on Taylor who was holding her broom hostage. "Our worlds, be it the mortal one, the spirit world, the realm of magic or that of the undead, are all separated by a veil. On All Hallow's Eve the veil is pulled back, allowing the inhabitants of each world to freely crossover into other worlds for 24 hours. At midnight, the veil resumes its duty and all those who have ventured past its borders are pulled back into their own world, regardless of whether they intend it or not."

"Are you serious? There are real monsters, ghosts and whatever hovering around here every Halloween?" Eric spouted.

"Don't be so surprised. You mortals choose to be blind to what's right in front of you. There are but a few who accidentally stumble past their borders, but even they choose to regard it is a nightmare. Silly creatures. Now, can I have my broomstick back, I'd like to enjoy the time I have left there," she stated holding her hand out to Taylor.

"But what about us?" Jen exclaimed.

"What about you?"

"I mean I'm not a real vampire. Someone turned me into one."

"Most vampires are turned."

"What she means," Danny piped in. "Is that we're not from the spirit world or the undead world. We're mortals who were...uh… cursed to become this way. Does that mean we won't be pulled beyond the veil?"

Katie blinked as she turned to the ghost hovering beside her. "A curse that transformed you into a spirit on Halloween? Hmmm, interesting…complex, yes but it does sound fun, a pity I didn't think of it," she mused as she circled him. "But as for your question, it matters not, you are what you are, so unless you break the curse, back to the spirit world you will go. I wouldn't fret too much though, spells cast on Halloween become permanent at midnight, so don't find a way to undo it, you will remain a spirit for good, so you'll be right at home."

"What?!"

All eyes turned to Jen who had clasped her hand over her mouth again. "I… I can't stay a vampire," she squeaked.

"Hold on. What are you talking about? Who would cast a curse like that?" Kendall interjected

"I can think of three witches who would do something like this. But we're a long way from Greendale and I don't think they can project this far." Dana added.

"So you buy all this witches belong to another realm stuff?"

"Oh no! I mean we live in different worlds yes, but metaphorical ones, not actual separate worlds, that's a little out there even for us. "

Katie laughed again before accusing the two of them of being victims of the curse as well as they could not be true witches. Another argument erupted with Danny flitting between the three as he struggled to keep the peace.

Taylor took a step towards Eric. "If things weren't strange enough."

"We've just been given a deadline," he finished.

"Are you sure they're the only ones who can help us out of this mess?"

"They… or at least Katie is the only one who seems to understand what's going on. But she's not going to be able to solve this on her own."

"Those three aren't going to work together as long as she keeps calling them curse witches, not when they really believe that's who they are."

"Let's set the record straight then," he stated as he marched towards the quarrelling crew. "Enough!" he ordered, silencing them all but earning reproachful glances which he ignored. "Look, we don't know a lot about what's happening. Yes, someone cast a spell or a curse or whatever that turned people into the monsters they dressed up as but that doesn't mean we start accusing each other. If you believe you're the real deal then you probably are. Now there's a whole city out there in complete chaos and a lot of innocent people getting hurt. The only way we can put an end to this before midnight is if you three work together."

"Work together?" They choursed.

"Yes, like it or not, the three of you are witches and right now you are our only hope of fixing this mess. I promise you that once this is over we will help you get back home."

Kendall stepped away from the other two and met his gaze before taking a deep breath. "I can't turn my back on innocents. Protecting people is what we do. So I'm in, but I will hold you to that promise, I have a husband and sisters who are either freaking out or in trouble, that I need to get back to."

He nodded and turned to Dana who was watching him thoughtfully. "There's a lot about this that I don't understand, but it is possible that this curse is what's keeping us here. I've always wanted to prove that witchcraft can be used to do the right thing, this is my chance to do it.

Katie however rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Why should I help you?"

"You have the opportunity to undo a powerful curse and leave no doubt about who the true sorceress is," Danny suggested, earning a scowl.

"Like Danny said, it's a powerful spell, so if you can't do it, get on your broom and get out of here," Taylor threw in as she stepped beside Eric and tossed the broomstick to a glaring Katie who caught it with ease.

"Taylor" Danny hissed.

"What? If she's not interested it's probably because she doesn't know how to help and is most likely a mortal who transformed because of the curse. Because, you know, real witches like these two," she paused and gestured to Kendall and Dana. "Would be interested in taking on a spell like this and you know ensuring that it doesn't offset the balance of things ."

Enraged dark eyes met defiant blue as Katie opened her mouth, however her retort was drowned out by a loud scream. A grey-haired man in a lab coat and apron ran into the entrance hall, fear-filled eyes peering over his shoulder as he stumbled through.

"Who's that?" Eric whispered to Taylor, unable to identify the person behind the mask. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "The only person who came dressed as a mad scientist was…"

"Is that Angela?" Jen exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the scientist who was struggling to open the door.

"Angela?"

"Yeah," Taylor confirmed. "She went with the female version of Dr. Frankenstein. Guess this spell takes things literally."

A low growl followed and stomping its way into the foyer was a tall, green-skinned man with bolts sticking out of his neck. He ignored the group standing by the staircase and made a beeline for the doctor, "Creator", he growled as he inched closer. The doctor squeaked and turned to run but tripped over his own feet and went crashing to the floor.

"No Angela," Jen cried as she took a step forward but suddenly found herself standing between the doctor and his emerging creation. She stared wide-eyed at her hands before turning to the doctor who looked up at her, horror etched into his face. His skin paled and she whipped around to see the monster upon them. Instinctively she lashed out with a punch, hitting him in the jaw and sending him stumbling back where he froze in place. Her eyes found Kendall and she nodded before turning back to the fallen Dr. Frankenstein.

"Let's get you out of here," she said as she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up. But as she took a step to the side she found herself hurtling into the staircase, pulling the doctor along with her.

"Abomination!" he cried as he got to his feet, favouring his right arm. He glanced at Jen who shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet. He then turned wide-eyes on the rest of the group before casting a glance at his frozen creation before taking a step back.

"Uh… Ang...I mean Dr. Frankenstein…" Eric began but was cut off by a yell to stay away as the dishevelled doctor backed up before turning heel and running away.

"Are you alright?" Taylor asked Jen.

"Actually I don't feel a thing. But how did I do that?"

" Vampire speed" Danny offered.

"Uh guys, we still have a problem," Kendall pointed out drawing their attention back to the monster.

"And no time to waste on it."

"I'll deal with that," Taylor stated. "The rest of you can figure out how we end all of this. That is if you're on board?" she added as her eyes once again locked with Katie's.

"I look forward to seeing that smile scrubbed off your face," she sneered before twisting her hand in the air enveloping everyone in a swirl of green smoke.

* * *

When the smoke cleared, Eric's eyes widened when he found himself in the Collins' kitchen along with the rest of their little group with one exception. "Where's Taylor?" he demanded.

Katie rolled her eyes and set her broom aside as she stepped up to the island. "She volunteered to deal with the beast. And this was the only room I know of where we can work undisturbed."

"You left her out there…"

"Eric it's okay," Jen soothed. "Tay can take care of herself. You were right, we're running out of time. You help the witches figure this out, I'm going to go help her."

"So this curse," Katie began, ignoring the exchange. "How big are we talking?"

"An entire city." Dana repeated. "Which means it took at least three witches or warlocks to cast it."

"I've seen transmutation spells before, but nothing quite like this," Kendall offered as she examined the cupboards. "This is usually the part where my sisters and I check the Book of Shadows but that's not an option."

"There is no book that can help us now. This was either crafted to torment the mortals or has been extracted from a forbidden grimoire."

"A minute ago you were impressed," Dana pointed out but Katie simply shrugged as she set her broom aside and began walking around the room.

"Witches like to meddle with mortals on Hallow's Eve, but, as much as I hate to admit it, the slayer is right, a balance must be maintained. Unsettling it could be disastrous for all our worlds. Now, a curse like this would require an anchor."

"Like a crystal?" asked Kendall.

"Yes, and in a world where magic is so rarely tapped into it would have to be cast in a place where that connection has already been opened."

"You mean like Briarwood?" Danny asked, earning a sharp look from Eric but the Quantum Ranger's remark was silenced by the door slamming open and a blur shooting past them and ramming into the cabinet.

"Still nothing," Jen mused as she jumped back to her feet.

"Speak for yourself," Taylor groaned as she grabbed her head.

Eric shot Jen a look before offering Taylor a hand. "Monster?" he asked as he helped her get the glass out of her hair, taking a deep breath when he confirmed that none of it had cut into her."

"Locked in the cellar," she confirmed, brushing the glass off her clothes as she asked what they'd come up with. Eric stepped away as he brought her up to speed giving her room to tug at her shirt to make sure none of the dust remained. As she did so her necklace bounced around her neck catching Dana's eye.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. "Your protection charms, where did you get them."

"At the costume store," Jen replied, her fingers curling around her own necklace as she shared a look with Taylor.

"Then that's where we should start."

"But we just bought them there, we can't be sure they were spelled there as well," the vampire argued.

"It's worth a shot," Eric interjected. "If it doesn't pan out its possible we might find some clue where to look."

"Fine, we'll take you there."

"Actually Jen, I think it's better if you stay here. Tay, Danny and I can check it out and D… I mean Sabrina should probably come too since she's good at sensing magic."

Brown eyes narrowed and lines began running across Jen's face as she took a step towards him. "You do not get to bench me on this Myers," she growled but soon found herself staring at Taylor who had stepped between them. "Back off," the blonde growled.

Jen hissed before she realised what she was doing and blinked before stepping away, her face returning to normal but her eyes filling with panic. "Sorry Jen,but you're in no condition to be out in the field, besides someone needs to run point and keep things in order here. If we find something we'll contact Circuit, you get the other two witches to us, in the meantime they can work out how to counter this thing."

She nodded but remained frozen in place, her eyes trained on the floor. He opened his mouth to say something but Taylor put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head and lead the way out of the kitchen. Eric spared the brunette a look but quickly followed, waving to Dana to follow.

"It'll be alright," Danny whispered to Jen. "Don't give up."

He then floated through the door and back into the entrance hall just as Eric tossed his keys to Taylor. "Turn the truck around, there's something I need to do."

* * *

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed it. Do review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	10. Chapter 10

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2020 brings a lot of good things your way.

Thanks so much for all the reviews. Now on with the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 10: _What Lies Beneath_**

Taylor steered Eric's truck through the streets as fast as she could push it without running over the unsuspecting costumed menaces that had taken over the city. Eric of course wasn't too happy about it but he couldn't argue with logic that she'd actually been to the store and was a lot better when it came to navigating by-lanes - a necessity seeing as they didn't have time to take a chance on the main streets being blocked off by God knows what.

She snuck a glance at the passenger seat where he sat with his lips pressed together eyes staring straight ahead, one hand curled around his seatbelt the other around his Quantum Defender. She had to hand it to him though, he barely made a sound when she nearly ran over a couple of princesses, an alien and a mummy, though as her eyes flickered to the clock on the dash, she could see why. At least her other passengers seemed to be more comfortable with her driving.

She turned a corner and let the truck pick up speed as she raised her eyes to the rearview mirror. At one end of the backseat sat Dana with her eyes closed and her palm pressed against the glass, she had been like that since they left the Collins' driveway and had barely moved an inch. At the other end a red-headed Ashley cocked her gun and held it at the ready as her eyes scanned the streets they were driving trough. She had barely said a word except ask what the target was and what if there was a plan.

Taylor's grip tightened around the steering wheel as she shook her head and forced herself to concentrate on the road, just in time to drift past a sleeping dragon before stepping on the gas once again.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked as he shifted in his seat.

"Hmmm… Nothing."

"Tay"

She snuck a glance at the passengers before dropping her gaze back to the road. "Was I… when I was under, was I that far gone?"

"Pretty much," Danny answered instead as he dropped his head in through the roof. "You didn't recognize any of us and you did a real number on Eric when he stopped you from staking Wes."

The car swerved forcing everyone to grab onto something while Danny was flung off the roof. "Do we have a tail?" Ashley asked, pulling out a pair of glasses from her belt and turning to get a better view from the rear window, while Dana opened her eyes and looked from one to the other.

"No," Eric reassured them. "Everything is fine, right Taylor?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, tightening her grip on the steering wheel as she regained control over the truck.

"It's fine," he repeated, shooting a quick glare at Danny who was now flying alongside them, keeping level with the driver's side window. "You had no idea who I was or why I tried to stop you."

"Right," she bit out, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead.

"Tay, Eric's right," Danny called out, struggling to keep pace with the speeding truck. "You had no control over what you were doing, just like Wes and Jen and no control when they attacked. But you were still willing to help when we convinced you we weren't the bad guys."

She didn't respond as she turned the corner, her eyes falling on Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader battling it out with lightsabers. Taking a deep breath she loosened her grip and whispered that she was sorry.

"I'm not going to break that easily," Eric scoffed as he turned to look out of the window. "You don't need to apologise and you definitely don't need to keep trying to protect me. I was handling it just fine until….."

"I meant was," she snapped, cutting him off. "That I'm sorry you had to deal with all this crazy on your own for however long. But if that's how you see it, the next time a vampire or some other mythical monster loses control and comes after you, by all means have at it."

"Guys come on," Danny intervened, as he slipped through the door and hovered between them. "This isn't the time to argue."

"Do you two always let your personal stuff affect you on a mission? No wonder you needed help," Ashley piped in but Taylor just turned to Eric with a glare.

"We do need the help," he defended. "We don't know what we're up against here."

"You have to admit Tay, convincing Black Window, The Flash and James Bond to help us out was genius. Jen's going to need all the help she can get to keep everyone in line back at the manor. Having the fastest man alive on our side is definitely a plus."

"We'll see just how much help they are," she grumbled as she pulled the truck to a stop outside All Dressed Up.

* * *

The street was quiet and empty when the piled out. Taylor slammed the door behind her and tossed the keys back to Eric before drawing a stake from her jacket and walking along the pavement, eyes scanning the area around them. Ashely pulled out a second gun from its holster and did the same along the other side, leaving Eric, Danny and Dana to proceed towards the store.

"Your friend's concern for your safety has more to do with her instincts as a slayer than her lack of faith in your abilities," the witch stated as they walked up to the door.

"What?"

"What I meant was the charms your friends are wearing hasn't completely cleaved them from the effects of this curse. Like your vampire friend's struggle with her powers, the slayer has to deal with the instinctual need to protect that's probably overriding her ability to think rationally," Dana explained, forcing Danny and Eric to share a look.

"How do you know so much about slayers?"asked Danny.

"Stories. But where I come from we call them Hunters and they're more concerned about killing witches than vampires but their abilities are similar, based on instinct, something that is a lot harder to control than physical powers. Stop!"

She held her hands out, effectively stopping Eric from taking a step forward but Danny just floated right through her arm and came to a stop by the door. "What's wrong?" he asked

"Did you feel something?"

"Feel what?"

"Strange… it looks like it wasn't designed to keep spirits out."

"What are you talking about?" asked Eric.

"There's a barrier around this place, ineffective on spirits apparently, but if we were to step through there will be consequences. I think this is the place we're looking for after all."

"Can you get rid of it?"

"Yes, but it will take me some time though."

Eric glanced at his watch, it was nearing ten which left them with over two hours to undo this mess. "Get to it," he ordered before looking up at Danny. "Go on ahead and see what you can find."

The ghost nodded and floated through the door entering the front of the shop that was lit with nothing more than the streetlights filtering in through the window. He looked around until a sliver of bright light peeking out from under a doorway caught his eye and he flew towards it. There was no sign of anyone in the back room either but as he floated through the stacks of boxes the open trapdoor immediately caught his attention.

He immediately flew through it, his eyes-widening as he descended into the green-lit room. "This place definitely wins the creepy award," he mumbled to himself as he floated through. A gasp escaped his lips when his eyes fell on the three women lying unconscious. He instantly flew towards them, hovering just above them as he squinted to catch the gentle rise and fall of their chests. Two of them were dressed casually but third's uniform took him by surprise.

As he straightened up his eyes fell on the cauldron and widened as a shudder ripped through him, freezing him in place. "It's alright," he told himself. "You're already a ghost." He shook his head and moved closer to the cauldron. His eyes locked with the jack-o-lantern as he was enveloped in a green glow and once again froze.

* * *

A loud crash shook him out of his trance forcing him to pull himself together and rise through the floorboards and back through the shop. But as he emerged he was forced to somersault forward as he tried to force himself to stop. His eyes widened as he watched Eric and Ashely locked in a head-to-head battle with what looked like zombies and gremlins. Also circling the battlefield was a pack of werewolves and panic flooded through him when he couldn't spot a familiar blonde.

At least until a wolf was hurled through the broken window of the neighbouring store followed by Taylor who walked out tugging at the shredded sleeve of her jacket. The other three wolves huddled around their fallen friend before turning on Taylor. The blonde didn't flinch and ran in headfirst, wrestling the leader to the ground. At the same time, Eric was surrounded by a horde of pointy fingered gremlins at which he was struggling to stun while Ashley had abandoned her guns in lieu of beating back the zombies with her batons.

To his left Dana stood apart from the fighting, her eyes closed as she faced the store and her palms pressed against the air with what he recognized as Taylor's necklace dangling through her fingers as her lips rapidly formed words.

"Da...Sabrina you have to help them," he cried as his eyes frantically scanned the battlefield but she ignored him, continuing to mumble under her breath.

A yelp of pain drew his attention back to Taylor who was now pinned down by one of the wolves and struggling to fight it off. He turned to Eric for help but the Quantum Ranger was struggling with the little green creatures that started climbing on to his back and shoulders, piercing him with their long pointed fingers. Ashley was still lashing away at the zombies but the numbers were beginning to overwhelm her, one zombie grabbing her baton forcing her to back away.

Danny turned back to Taylor who somehow managed to kick the beast off her but another was ready to leap. "He pushed himself forward only to go right through the wolf. It did slow the beast down but it just as quickly shook it off and prepared to leap once again. "No!"

Dana's eyes flew open and the pendant in her hands began to glow as she lifted her head and loudly cried out, "Concido".

A bright light emanated from the pendant, surrounding the store before the air around it rippled as the barrier peeled away before releasing a powerful wave of energy that knocked everyone to their feet. Unaffected, Dana reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open, holding the door open as she called for the others to get inside.

Ashley was the first to get to her feet, picking up her second baton she made a dash for the door as Eric pushed the creatures off him and pushed himself to his feet, his eyes searched the battlefield and only when he saw Taylor push herself to her feet, did he make a run for it, following her inside and pulling the door shut, leaving Danny to float through as he, Ashley and Taylor began barricading the door and window with whatever they could find.

"Where did those things come from?"Ashley panted as she secured a table against the door. "And why wouldn't you let me shoot them again?"

"Because they're not real monsters," Taylor grunted as she pulled a display case in front of the window."Someone made them like that. We need to turn them back not hurt them."

Dana however, immediately turned to Danny and demanded to know what he had found. The ghost quickly summed up his findinging, sending her scampering to the back room with him in tow.

"It looks like our friends are back on their feet too," Eric called from his perch by the window as he drew the curtain and helped Taylor align the case in front of it. His eyes fell on her bare arm which had gashes along it. "Taylor," he whispered.

"I'm fine," she insisted before turning heel to help Ashely secure the door.

"This is definitely the place," Dana' called out as Danny and she returned. "The curse is tethered to a pumpkin, a little unorthodox but fitting considering the day. I don't think we can move it though. We'll need to bring the others here."

"And the women?" asked Eric

"Unconscious but alive, it doesn't seem like there's anything to worry about so in the interest of time I say we deal with the curse first."

Eric nodded and raised his morpher but before he could press his communicator, the window shattered sending him stumbling back as two werewolves crashed through their barricade and landed on the floor, eyes glowing as they bared their teeth.

Ashley tapped her baton against a shelf, her lips curling into a smug smile as a ripple of electricity ran through it. She tossed the other one to Taylor and ordered the other blonde to get behind her. Taylor stepped in front of one of the wolves, pressing down on the switch to release the charge as she barked at Eric to call Jen and told Danny to check on what was going on outside.

The wolves took a step forward but the two women stood their ground, watching them. Their eyes met and they nodded to each other slowly raising their batons. The wolves growled and lurched forward but the two of them ducked and swerved in unsion, emerging behind the beasts and leaning forward to prod them in the back with the batons sending an electric charge surging through them. Dana and Eric stepped back as the creatures howled in pain before falling forward unconscious.

But before they could take a moment to breathe a swirl of green smoke appeared in the middle of the room bringing with it Katie, Kendall and to their surprise Lucas. "We're here to help?" he announced as he stepped forward with his hands on his waist.

Eric points to the window and says that he's welcome to deal with the problem outside but before he can finish explaining the situation Danny floated back in with a broad grin on his claiming that help had arrived.

"The power rangers are here."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and let me know what you think.

Till next time...


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks so much for all the reviews.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 11: _From Beyond The Veil_**

Callista looked up at the full moon allowing the light to wash over her as her lips curled into a smile before she spun around and taking in the quiet clearing she had found in the wood. At the moment it was completely bathed in the white glow of the moon but soon it would be at just the right angle for what she really needed.

"Are you ready sisters?" she asked as she pulled out her amulet.

"It's about time," Callico grumbled as she mirrored her actions with Camryn following suit. Together the three of them turned around, each facing a circular pane of glass ensconced in a silver frame. In unison they closed their eyes and held their arms out. Within moments their amulets began to glow before a beam of energy shot out from each, hitting the glass panes. When they pulled back, breaking the connection they left behind three mirrors with mirrors with glass in shades of red, blue and yellow.

"Perfect," Callista whispered as she stepped back to fall in line with the others, holding out her hands for them to take. As the light of the moon hit them, it turned to beams of energy, reflecting off of them and converging as they a fourth glass placed atop an arch of stone. A faint ripple of light emerged within it and Callista tightened her grip on her sisters hands as she spoke, "Sanctificate in lumine lunae est scriptor."

Her sisters responded squeezing her hands in return as the three of them chanted as one, "Aperiam in porta."

The mirror over the arch glowed brighter as a smoky white curtain emerged within. The three witches smiled as the roar of thunder poured through followed by the clanking sound of chains falling to the ground. The echo of footsteps against the cold, cobbled ground followed as two silhouettes emerged within the arch.

"Finally," Callista whispered as let go of her sisters' hands and took a step forward placing her hands on her hips as she watched the silhouettes draw closer the forms becoming clearer with each step. "Lord Kazak, Lord Kayn, welcome to the realm of mortals."

"It is good to be free," a hoarse voice replied as a lean figure dressed in a dark cloak stepped through the arch, yellow eyes glowing as the large pumpkin he had for a head shifted from one side to the other.

"I agree," a svelte voice added, as the second figure emerged also wearing a dark cloak and sporting a pumpkin for a head. "You three have done well," he added as his eyes scanned the clearing noting the pyres that encircled them and the stone altar erected behind the witches.

"So your plan worked," Kazak grunted. "I admit I am surprised."

"Well we did have a little hiccup…" Camryn began but stopped when her sisters shot her a deathly glare.

"Hiccup Callista?" Kayn asked as he locked eyes with red head.

She blinked but straightened her posture and held her head high as she met his gaze. "There was a slight miscalculation on our part," she admitted. "But there is nothing to worry about. It has made the chaos all the sweeter, it does not hinder our plans at all."

"And just what is this miscalculation that has occured?"Kazak demanded as he took a step forward. "We have not waited for millenia for you to squander this opportunity with your incompetence."

"Incompetence?" Callico repeated, eyes blazing as she stepped forward, hands clenched into fists at her side. "Do you have any idea what we have done here?"

She stopped when Callista held out her hand and their eyes met. Emerald orbs were calm as they persuaded her sister to back down but there was a devious glint in them as they turned on the pumpkin-headed warlock. "It's okay Callico. Lord Kazak is just impatient," she said a tauntingly sweet voice. "As he constantly reminds us, he has been waiting a long time for this he knows that he is standing here because of our efforts and that his continued existence in this world depends on us completing the transference ceremony. And he is most certainly aware that it is inadvisable to antagonize the only people who can ensure that his long awaited desire is fulfilled, especially when there is little time to waste."

Said lord growled and stepped forward but was stopped by his companion. "Of course Callista, we are indebted to you and your sisters for your assistance in this matter," Kayn soothed, drawing her attention to him. "And we have complete faith in your abilities, look at what you've done. Which is why as promised once we take possession of this realm you will have your hearts' desire. There is really no need to complicate things at this moment. Is there brother?"

Kazak grunted and turned away making the red-headed witch smile as she nodded in asquencince. "I'm glad you see it that way Lord Kayn. There is no longer any reason to waste more time. It is so precious tonight," she added as she threw Kazak a smug look before turning to tell her sisters to get ready.

"Indeed my dear," Kayn responded as he stepped beside her watching the other witches walk away. "But out of curiosity, what did go wrong with your spell?"

"Oh the spell worked perfectly. It's just that the mortals no longer disguise themselves as what they believe are creatures of lore. They've taken too donning the guise of fictional beings of their own creation. The results were interesting, some of them have developed powerful abilities but they are victims to the stories of their own making, their minds are too far gone for anyone to interfere."

A crooked smile appeared on his orange face as he took her hand and raised it between them. "Once this over, I look forward to seeing the chaos you have rained down on this realm."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do much worse," she teased as she pulled her hand out of his grasp and sauntered towards her sisters who had returned leading two handsome young men in fitted suits, bound and gagged towards the stone altar.

"Don't worry darlings," Camryn cooed as she stroked the face of the blond standing beside her as his fear-filled eyes searched the area. "It's not going to hurt."

"Maybe a little," Callico as he pushed the dark haired man onto his knees in front of the altar.

"Don't scare them," the blonde scolded and gently prodded her captive into a kneeling position. "All of this must be strange enough for them and they were very nice to us."

Her sister simply rolled her eyes and nodded to Callista before taking her position. Camryn offered the two men a gentle shrug before trotting off to her own position. "It is time," the red-head informed their guests as she gestured for them to take their positions on the other side of the altar. The two of them shared a look before walking towards the altar and kneeling beside, facing the two young men whose eyes widened. The blond squeaked beneath his gag as he turned on his side and scrambled to his feet, stumbling as he ran towards the trees.

He had barely gone a few paces when his body froze and despite his best attempts, he was unable to move. His eyes grew wider when his body turned around and he found himself being pulled back towards the altar and his knees bending of their volition.

"Now that we're all in place, we can begin," Callista grumbled, shooting the blond a glare as she stepped back into place. She waved her hand and the tri coloured mirror from above the arch rose into the air and floated towards the altar, settling between the two pairs. She locked eyes with Callico who raised her hand in the air and curled her fingers into a fist igniting the pyres that surrounded them. She then turned to Camryn who clapped her hands twice allowing chalk drawn symbols around to become visible. Finally she pulled out a scroll from her pocket and unfurled it before looking up once again.

"Let the switch begin."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and let me know what you think.

Till next time...


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks so much for all the reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 12: _Cause & Effect_**

Eric pushed the display case aside and hastily drew the curtain as Taylor and Ashley joined him to watch six individuals in a very familiar set of uniforms taking on the horde of monsters that had been terrorizing them. "Looks like somebody decided to dress up as the Time Force Rangers," Danny pointed out. "Lucky us."

"Yeah lucky," Taylor mumbled as she glanced at Eric whose eyes were fixed on the Quantum Ranger standing back-to-back with the Red Ranger as they fought the remaining werewolves while the Blue and Yellow Rangers took on the zombies leaving Pink and Green to handle the gremlins

"Power Rangers?" Lucas echoed. "I'd ask how they got here. But this is like every kid's dream come true. I'm going to go help them." Before the rest of them could react he sped past them in a red blur, phased through the window and began circling the area rounding up stray gremlins.

"Being rescued by Power Rangers. That feels strange," Danny commented.

"Why?" Taylor challenged as she shot Eric a smirk before following after the witches. "I seem to recall doing that once."

Ashley turned to Danny looking for an explanation but the ghost was watching Eric who simply rolled his eyes before holstering his weapon and heading into the back room. "This is going to be a long night," he mumbled as he took a deep breath and lowered himself through the floorboards.

When Taylor stepped into the now lit basement her eyes immediately fell on the three witches, Katie standing by the cauldron from which was giving off an ominous green glow while Dana and Kendall were examining the jars and bottles on the table and shelf beside it.

"Told you it was creepy down here," Danny offered as he joined her.

"Didn't doubt you," she replied as her eyes swept over the candles placed all along the room and the markings on the floor. They dropped to the necklace Dana had returned to her and clenched her fingers around it before following her ghostly friend to where the three women lay unconscious. She crouched beside them she immediately recognized the blonde and the brunette as she reached over to place two fingers behind their ears. "Pulse is pretty strong," she announced. "But we should get them to a hospital just in case. These two run the store, possibly own it but her I don't recognize."

She nodded to the woman in the police uniform as the sound of his footsteps announced Eric's arrival. "Officer Greene?" he whispered as he stepped closer to get a better look.

"You know her?"

"Not exactly. She pretended to be a cop and came by HQ earlier today. Wanted help with a case but ran off when we first encountered people who had been transformed…" He trailed off as he noticed the candles placed around the room. Taylor asked him what was wrong but he ignored her as he stood and reached for the nearest one and sniffed it.

"What is he doing?" Danny whispered to Taylor who only shrugged as she rose to her feet, her eyes fixed on Eric.

"Eric…"

"Pumpkin spice," he whispered before dropping the candle and rushing towards the table to examine the bottles and vials. "Hey!" Dana exclaimed. "I'm trying to work here."

"Sorry, I just need to check something" he mumbled as he lifted up a small bottle and held it up to his nose. "It looks like we found our thief or thieves."

"Thieves? What are you talking about?"

He waved his hand over the empty jars sitting on the table. "Most of this stuff, including the candles were stolen today. Officer Greene… or whoever she is thought someone was trying to cast a spell."

"Obviously," Kendall pointed out as she gestured to the cauldron. "But I don't think those two are your culprits."

"How so?"

"Receipts," she replied immediately, holding up a box full of small slips of paper. "You don't just go from happily paying for things to stealing them overnight, at least not for ingredients that don't cost the Earth. And judging by the empty racks upstairs our sleeping friends aren't doing too badly for themselves."

"And they definitely didn't cast this curse," Katie added as she looked up from the cauldron.

"How can you tell?" asked Dannny.

"It's simple. Their magical auras have been stripped, that's the price witches pay when they choose to live in the mortal world. Enchanting frivolous protection charms are the most powerful thing they can do." She turned her attention to the third woman and narrowed her eyes, "That one doesn't have an aura. Unusual… probably a concealment spell of some kind but we don't have time for that mystery right now."

She turned back to face the cauldron her eyes locking with the glowing pumpkin inside it. "No. Someone from the realm of magic did this and from the looks of it they intend to stay in this world without paying the price." She bent over the cauldron once again, gently waving her hand over the top and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor interrupted.

Her eyes flew open and she scowled as she stood up and turned around locking eyes with the blonde before nodding at the silver bands wrapped around their wrists. "Whoever cast this curse has tethered themselves to them so that they don't have to answer the call of the veil. Foolish though, a spell of this magnitude would have required at least three casters, but only two tethers. They either don't mind taking a risk or have little value for the lives they've tethered themselves to."

"What are you talking about?" Eric asked but she turned on him with wide eyes. "Do you want me to undo this curse or answer your paltry questions?" she snapped. Her lips twisted into a scowl as she looked down at the unmoving form of the uniform-clad woman. "As for your friend, she doesn't have the mark so I assume she went snooping where she wasn't supposed to and paid the price. Now leave me to work. The sooner this is done , the sooner I can be done with you mortals."

She whirled around, forcing Eric to lean away to avoid being hit by her hat. He stepped back joining Taylor and Danny by the unconscious women. He looked down at the unconscious form of the persistent woman who had come to him earlier that day. "I don't get it, she was with me since this afternoon, so she could have only come here after she ran off on me, which probably means she knew to come here."

"Most likely after the other two were knocked out, since she isn't marked. If what understood is right then she may not have been here when the others were tethered," Taylor thought aloud. "But seriously, did you actually believe her when she told you she thought someone was going to cast a spell? And how do you know she's pretending to be a cop?"

He met her gaze and allowed his shoulders to drop as a sigh escaped his lips. "Well she was right, wasn't she?"

Taylor folded her arms and raised an eyebrow making him nod in resignation. "Okay, I didn't exactly believe her about the spell stuff, I just thought someone was up to something and I had a feeling innocent people could get hurt. That little excursion was stranger than I expected. I knew she wasn't telling me everything but I didn't think to check with the department until after all of this started happening. It looks like I was right though, Officer Greene doesn't exist and she definitely knows more than she was letting on."

"But how did she get in here?" Danny asked. "There was a barrier around the place."

Eric looked around the room, stopping to watch the witches huddle around the table trying to work out a plan of action before turning back to the others. "I thought she just believed in witchcraft and stuff, but after everything we've seen tonight I wouldn't be surprised if she was more."

"Maybe" Taylor countered as she crouched down beside her and ran her fingers along the back of her head checking for injuries. "But if she's not asleep because of a spell like these two we should probably get her to a hospital."

"With the way things are right now, there's no way we're going to get there before midnight."

"We won't," she replied as she turned the woman over and tucked her arms under her before lifting her up and turning towards the stairs. "But we just happen to have a speedster on our side."

* * *

Danny floated up through the floorboards to find Taylor standing by the window, staring at the street outside with her arms folded, the expression on her face reminding him of all the times Max hid her coffee cup in the morning. Eric on the other hand was leaning against a display cabinet near the back wall, his eyes fixed on the clock across from him.

Between the Flash and the Power Rangers the werewolves, zombies and gremlins were taken care of before Taylor entrusted the woman masquerading as a police officer to the scarlet speedster with orders to take her to the nearest hospital and stay with her, claiming that they needed to ask her a few questions when she woke up. After that all they could do was wait while the witches worked on reversing the spell.

Of course, that was easier said than done for his friends, especially one who was dealing with slayer instincts. And with time quickly slipping away from them a heated argument broke out about finding the witches responsible and the lack of leads. He'd tried to intervene but neither was willing to back down at which point both Katie and Kendall demanded that they leave, forcing them to return upstairs where Ashley was still keeping watch and hadn't said a word since.

Eric's eyes left the clock only to fall to his wrist watch before he ran his hands through his hair and pushed himself away from the case only to start pacing up and down. "Eric it's okay to breathe," the ghost assured him as he floated over. "Katie, Kendall and Dana have got this. They're going to turn everyone back."

"We're running out of time," he grumbled as he checked his watch once again.

"We still have an hour," Taylor pointed out but only earned herself a glare.

"Taylor's rig… has a point," Danny intervened, watching the Quantum Ranger's changing expressions carefully. "We're not out of time yet. We found the source of the magic and have three powerful witches on our side who will figure out how to undo this before midnight. I think we've beaten this."

"What exactly have we beaten?" asked Ashley who was leaning against the door, twirling a pocket knife between her fingers.

Eric looked up as Taylor turned around but neither said a word leaving Danny to suggest that they are going to stop hundreds of people being pulled into other realms. "Like Katie said witches like to mess with humans on Halloween. This is their idea of a prank, isn't it?"

"It's a lot of trouble to go through for a prank," Anshley commented.

Tayllor nodded, adding, "And if Katie is right, they're not planning on going back to wherever they came from like they're supposed to. Ash… Black Widow… I mean Natasha is right. There has to be more to it. Taking people to another realm doesn't make sense. Once the spell becomes permanent whoever is pulled through will be just like the witches or monsters or whatever, they'll be equals. They're not actually tormenting or toying with them."

Eric met her gaze before folding his arms and turning to the floor. "When you put it like that… I've been so focused on getting turning everyone back to normal before midnight, I didn't really think about the who or the why."

"Understandable, we are on a rather tight deadline with high stakes,"Ashley pointed out as she pushed herself away from the door and walked into the room, pursing her lips as she tapped the flat side of her blade against her hand. "From what I understand of this mission you've roped me into, the only thing this spell or curse of whatever it is your going on about has done is cause chaos and confusion. It's even got you two biting each other's heads off. It doesn't pack quite a punch as an endgame but it is quite the elaborate distraction."

"A distraction? From what?" Danny piped up. "It is Halloween, maybe the endgame is creating chaos."

"No," Eric cut in. "If chaos was the objective, someone would have taken credit for it by now. You don't do something on a scale like this to watch from the shadows…"

"Unless you want to distract people from something else entirely," Taylor finished.

"But what is that something else?"

Danny's question was met with a roar of thunder echoing through the room as a bright light washed through the window. All four of them rushed out into the street, where blinding pillar of light rising up to meet the sky caught their attention.

"Well ghost boy I think we found your answer."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	13. Chapter 13

This one took a little longer to upload but I finally made it.

A little warning though, it does switch between POVs often but hopefully it isn't confusing.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 13: _The Switching Hour_**

"_Dr. Yang please report to the fourth floor nurse's station. Dr. Yang please report to the fourth floor nurse's station."_

Dark eyes flew open, but almost immediately narrowed before blinking as they adjusted to the bright light. The blank stare of a white ceiling was the first thing that came into focus, followed by pale blue walls as the faint buzzing grew louder, distinctly sounding like muffled voices, footsteps, squeaking wheels and a dinging noise that recurred every few minutes, followed by loud voice of a woman.

Their owner shot up, one hand reaching for the necklace around her neck, the other grasping the railing. Her eyes widened as she looked from left to right as people shuffled around, many of them dressed in pale green scrubs or long white coats. She blinked and patted down the gurney she was sitting in. This was definitely not her friends' basement plaguing her with the question of how she got to the hospital? And what happened to the others?

She scrambled off the gurney and stopped the nearest nurse, ignoring the startled, disapproving look she received as she demanded to know how she got there. The bewildered woman simply pointed to her right, "Believe it or officer, the Flash brought you here."

"The Flash?" she repeated, letting go of the nurse as she stepped back to turn in the direction she pointed, where a man in a bright red suit was talking to a young boy being attended to by a doctor. She whipped her head around when she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder to find the curly haired woman offering her a sympathetic smile. "You're not going crazy hun, the whole damn city it is. And I thought it was bad when we had those dreadful mutants running around. As the nurse continued talking her eyes took in her surroundings, men, women and children, some wrapped in blankets, some sporting injuries and others just holding on to each other as the doctors and nurses ran to and fro.

"As you can see, we're a little overwhelmed, but you just sit tight, I'll get a doctor to come check you out. Thank goodness Halloween is almost over, hopefully all this madness will go away with it."

Her eyes widened as the nurse's words sank in and she pushed past her, stepping closer to the clock on the wall. The hands ticked away moving faster and faster and her body froze she realised that there was less than an hour to midnight.

"Hey you're awake," a cheerful voice rang in her ears, snapping her out of her trance and bringing her face-to-face with her so called scarlet saviour. "That's good. You were out for ages, I was starting to get worried...," he said, speaking so quickly she barely understood a word.

"Stop," she declared, interrupting his rant. "How did you find me?"

"Oh I didn't, Commander Myers and his friends did. The scary blonde chic asked me to bring you here and stay put while they deal with whatever witchy-vodoo stuff is going on. Speaking of which I'm supposed to tell them you're awake."

But she just pushed past him, her hand clutching her necklace as she made a beeline for the entrance, unapologetically shoving past people and ignoring their outbursts. Her hurried steps slowed to a stop as she stepped outside, her wide and as they gazed upon a towering pillar of light in the distance. Her hand fell to her side, revealing an emerald pendant as she whispered into the night, "I'm too late."

* * *

Quantum Defender in hand Eric carefully treaded through the trees with jaw clenched and eyes slowly drifting to his watch before shooting forward as he navigated the uneven trail, a bright light shimmering through the trees showing him the way.

Danny floated behind him with Ashley scanning the woods with a sleek pair of night vision binoculars, stark reminders that in the 20 minutes or so it took them to get there and hike through the woods, the witches had yet to find a way to reverse the spell. Taylor who was bringing up the rear hadn't said a word since they left the costume store. And though they weren't quite in sync at the moment, he knew she was thinking of the same thing he was: What was the endgame of all of this? And were they already too late to save their friends and the rest of Silver Hills?

He held up his fist signalling the others to stop as they neared the clearing. Shuffling over to the line of trees he peered through the branches, immediately spotting two standing apart, facing the pillar. Ashely joined him and crouched down on one knee and held her binoculars to her eyes. "There's another one of the other side of that," she informed them. "And I can't make out what, but something is going on inside that pillar. There are more people in there." She leaned forward and fiddled with the controls but dropped the binoculars with a sigh. "All I can see are burly shapes though."

"It looks like some kind of ritual," Danny offered. "Though there should probably be more chanting. But I guess, whatever they actually wanted to do is happening in there."

Taylor looked down at her hands staring at them as they trembled just a bit before clenching them into fists and closing her eyes. "Then we stop it. I'm all for beating the crap out of them but something tells me that's not going to put an end to it," she stated as she joined them.

"Rituals and witchcraft are more Strange's thing but taking those three out is not going to be a problem," Ashley weighed in as she pocketed her binoculars and pulled out her gun. "Them I can hurt right?"

"Hurt, yes. Let's avoid a bloodbath though," Eric insisted.

"You should have thought of that before asking an assassin to join your little troupe."

"You wanted in."

"Hmm… true. It beats taking all of Bond's money."

"Guys focus," Danny intervened. "Ticking and everything. How do we stop this?" All eyes turned to him and he blinked back at the expectant stares he received. "Why are you looking at me like that?'

"Well Dan... right now you more about this stuff than we do," Taylor pointed out. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know," he shot back immediately. "I don't know the first thing about real magic, let alone how to stop a spell in progress…"he trailed off as his watched the pyres burn before them. "The fires!" he exclaimed. "Taking out the fires might help."

"The fires? Are you certain?" Ashley asked as she turned to examine them herself. "There's nothing special about them."

" In the shows Kendall watches they light candles because it's a part of the spell. To purify the area or contain the magic or something like that," the ghost defended. "But on the other hand a circle of fire is sometimes used to contain spirits or demons. I don't really know, it's just stuff I've seen on TV."

"Tonight TVs kinda becoming reality Dan," Eric stated as he snuck a quick look at Taylor before fiddling with the controls on the Quantum Defender.

"We don't know that. What I do know is that there are rules to this kind of thing. If we put out the fires, we could either make things better or worse."

"I say that's a risk we take," Ashely added as she raised her gun. "Either way we will get their attention and if they are really witches and they're not focusing on what they're doing…"

"There's a chance this spell or whatever it is doesn't work," Taylor concluded. "I'm in. It beats waiting for them to finish and letting them control what happens from here on."

"Guess that makes three of us," Eric declared as he shifted his weapon. "I'll take care of the fires, you two keep the witches busy and Danny, see if you can find out what's going on inside that glowing pillar."

"I don't get a say in this, do I?" the ghost groaned.

"Not unless you have a better plan Dan," Taylor offered as she stepped beside Ashely. Eric turned to him and once he received a hesitant nod raised his weapon and took aim. He fired at the pyre closest to them hitting it dead on and quenching the flame with an icy blast.

"Has it always been able to do that?" Danny asked as Taylor and Ashley stepped into the clearing.

"Trip might have made some upgrades," the Quantum Ranger shot back before ducking into the line of trees and firing another shot.

* * *

Callista, Callico and Camryn stood back, each with a wicked smile on their face as they watched the magic run its course. The transference ceremony they had chosen was a lengthy one but it was only one that ensured minimal side effects. But it wouldn't be much longer and soon this night would end and the real fun would begin.

The pillar flickered and Callista's eyes widened, she immediately turned around to find one of the pyres frozen in a block of ice. "Sisters, it looks like we have company. Deal with it, we've come too far to let insects interfere now."

The two witches nodded and turned as another shot sprang from the trees quenching another flame. Callico snarled, her fists erupting in flames as two figures stepped out of the tree cover.

"Who do you think they are?" asked Camryn

"It doesn't matter, they will pay for meddling with my flames." Without warning she charged a guttural yell ripping from her throat as she sped forward. The red-head ran forward to meet her, firing some sort of weapon. One of the projectiles whizzed past her ripping the side of her top. She snarled and flung a fireball at her, hitting the weapon and forcing her opponent tot toss it aside.

But as she neared her the woman and drawn two sticks from her back and used them to block her fiery strike and launch one of her own. Callico turned away to avoid it and once again ignited her fists as she leaned forward to strike her opponent's back, but the woman moved swiftly, gracefully turning around and crossing her sticks in front of her to keep her flaming fists at bay.

Camryn watched her sister trade blows with the intruder before turning her eyes to her accomplice. The blonde woman locked eyes with her and flexed her fingers before curling them into fists as she stepped forward. From beyond the trees another shot rang out, extinguish another flame. Her snapped in the direction it came from before turning back to the blonde who was approaching her and the red-head who was locked in a stalemate with with Callico. "There's more of you," she hissed.

"I wouldn't worry about that right now," the blonde stated as stepped into her path. "You're going to have to deal with me first. And I have a few questions."

Camryn's lips curled into a smug smile as she assessed the taller woman. "Is that so?" she teased. "I'll be happy to answer them, but first you have to catch me."

She snapped her fingers and watched with glee as blue eyes widened before moving from left to right searching for something. She hadn't moved an inch but to the woman standing before her she had completely vanished from sight.

"You talk tough," she chuckled as she began walking around her. "But let's see if you can really live up to it."

A punch cut through the air just in front of her and she tilted her head, mildly impressed that she had come so close but before she had the chance to pull back she grabbed her outstretched arm and used it as leverage to aim a kick to her stomach, letting go just as she doubled over. When it didn't appear to have done too much damage, she rushed her, hooking her leg to trip her and send her crashing to the ground.

Her opponent groaned but was already pushing herself back to her feet. Undeterred, Camryn reappeared beside her and brought her heel crashing down on her back before snapping her fingers and vanishing from sight once again.

* * *

"C'mon guys, undo this spell already," Danny mumbled as he stared at his hands which were still translucent enough to see the forest floor through them. His head snapped up when he heard a grunt and his eyes widened as he watched Ashely roll on the ground, narrowly missing the stream of fire thrown at her. Not far off Taylor was having wasn't faring much better, from where he stood it looked like she was punching the air, at least until her opponent materialised behind her, tapping her on the shoulder but then vanishing as she turned around. He wanted to help but as he looked down at his hands again there was so little he could do in his current state.

A blast shot out of the trees and doused another pyre drawing his attention back to the situation. Eric was currently running along the border of trees taking out as many flaming pyres as he could without being seen but he would have to leave cover eventually and that's when he would get his chance. Right on cue Eric darted through the trees, firing off a shot as he ran.

Without hesitating Danny launched himself forward, flying past Ashley and Taylor and heading straight for the pillar of light where he stumbled to a stop in front of what looked like an altar. His eyes widened as he realised that the burly shapes Ashley saw were four people kneeling around it, two appeared to be humans but the others looked normal, apart from the fact that they had pumpkins for heads. They were each engulfed in a cocoon of light that was connected to the mirror sitting on top of the stone.

He looked up to meet the emerald eyes of the third witch who was standing just beyond the pillar with her arms outstretched. When she saw him, her lips curled into a smile and she called out telling him he was too late. But even as the words left her mouth the pillar flickered, the light dimming as yet another pyre went out.

* * *

"No!" Callista cried as she watched the pillar of light flicker before her eyes. "What are those two doing?" she grumbled as she dropped her hands and stepped around the pillar where she found her sisters engaged with the two intruders. The sharp sound of energy cutting through the air reached her ears and she turned around to find another one pointing a weapon of some kind at the pyres. He fired another shot but she waved her hand, deflecting it so that it hit a tree, turning it into a block of ice.

He hesitated and she curled her fingers, pulling them back towards her, forcing the weapon to fly out of his hands, straight into hers. "What kind of strange magic is this?" she questioned as she twirled it between her fingers.

"Careful that is not a toy," the mortal declared as he stepped forward.

She scoffed and tossed it aside, her lips curling into glee-filled smile as she watched his eyes widen with horror as it followed the trinket to the ground. "Pathetic mortal, you do not tell me what to do. You've caused enough trouble for one night. Allow me to show you what happens when fools meddle with things they don't understand."

She took a step closer and held out her hand, a wicked smile making its way to her lips as she watched him tilt is head back, his mouth opening and closing as his hands clawed at his neck.

* * *

Taylor panted as she pushed herself to her feet, the witch's laughter filling her ears as continued to evade her. To her left, Ashley was pinned by her opponent, her baton the only thing keeping her fiery palms away from her face. Across the circle, the third witch had managed to stop Eric and from the looks of was somehow strangling him.

"Darn it" she grumbled as she felt something move past her but as she turned around, she heard giggling behind her. "Okay, that's it. I've had enough of you."

"Aww… that's too bad," the witch teased as she materialised. "The fun's just getting started. You could try a little more though. Though I suppose all the tough talk in the world can't help you fight someone you can't see."

She snapped her fingers and disappeared once again putting Taylor on alert. She stumbled forward when she felt something push her but managed to keep her footing but as she turned around her eyes widen as she sees the grass bend as if a weight was pressed against it. "I might not be able to see you, but I can fight you," she declared as she closed her eyes.

The sound of the wind stirring around them filled her ears, slowly Ashley's gasps and the witch's grunts floated over to her as did Eric's struggle but she forced herself to drown them out focusing only on the wind. She looked up when she heard it, gentle breathing and the slightest shift in the air. Grounding her right foot, she lashed out with her left sweeping it through the air until she hit her target.

The witch materialised as she fell to the ground, rolling over as she hit the ground and gasping for air when she ended up on her back. Taylor took a step forward and looked down at her before her eyes sought out Eric who was still trapped by the witch. She stepped forward, determined to run across the clearing when his opponent waved her hand and tossed him aside, turning around, a ruby amulet glowing around her neck. She turned around and saw the same happen to the witch laying on the ground and the one fighting Ashely.

The moment she noticed the blue glow of her amulet she used all the strength she had to push Ashely aside as she turned around and raised her head to the sky, throwing her arms into the air, unleashing a loud cry. All around them the pyres reignited, melting through the ice and rising into the air like erupting volcanoes.

Taylor was forced to raise her hand to shield her eyes as the pillar grew brighter and brighter until the wind picked up, swirling around them as the pillar unravelled, sending ribbons of light circling around the clearing. Lower and lower they descended forcing her to dive to the ground beside Ashley to avoid being hit.

* * *

Callista laughed as the pillar of light began to unravel around them, slowly peeling away as it revealed the altar. She revelled in the feeling of the energy that was being unleashed, her amulet absorbing it as flew over her. She turned to see Camryn rise to her feet and together she and her sisters approached the altar. The warlocks' bodies fell back on the ground in a crumpled heap, the hollows of their eyes a dark void while the two men her sister had lured to their table rose to their feet.

She stepped forward as they came around the altar looked up into their eyes. Gone were the rims of blue and brown, replaced by a menacing yellow, she knew all too well. With a wave of her hand their bonds were undone falling away she took a step back, joining her sisters. "It is done."

* * *

Danny froze, his eyes following the men in suits as they rose from beside the altar before falling back to the pumpkin-headed men who now lay on the ground, lifeless. He wasn't sure what he had just seen but as the light around him grew brighter all he heard was muffled screams, followed by the cracking of glass before the light faded entirely.

He stiffened as he watched the witches greet the men and gulped when the blonde one looked passed them, her eyes locking with his as a mischievous smile made its way across her face. With a short bow she broke away from the gathering and took a step towards him before turning her attention to the two fallen, leaning in close and prodding them with her finger.

"They've lost consciousness," she announced, turning back to the others. "Such a shame, I was looking forward to playing with them a little before they went bye-bye for good."

His eyes widened as he forced himself to move, ignoring the two men who had turned to assess him with glowing yellow eyes and flew straight to where Eric was pushing himself to his feet with Taylor and Ashley making their way towards him, eyes fixed on the group of people behind him.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked as she helped the Quantum Ranger get to his feet.

"I'll live," he grunted, rubbing his neck with one hand. "What the hell happened?"

"Dan did you get a look at what was going on in there?"

"I'm not sure what I saw, but I think the bad guys did a body swap."

"Body swap? All this for a body swap? There has to be more to it."

"Let's just ask them," Eric growled as he started marching towards them only to be stopped by Ashley who held out his Quantum Defender. "You're going to need this."

He thanked her and accepted it before resuming his march with her right behind him. "We're just going to walk up to them and ask them what their plan is? No plan?" Danny whispered to his teammate as they followed the others.

Her eyes swept over her watch before rising up to look ahead. "At this point that's all we have. But villains do love their monologues, so hopefully one of these morons will spill something that can help us turn the tables on them, before we run out of time."

The witches and their associates turned around as the four of them approached the altar, Eric and Ashley's hands clasped around their weapons. The red-headed witch sported a victorious smirk as she folded her arms and met Eric's glare with one of her own. But she was not the first to speak. "And what do we have here?" the blond man inquired as he pushed past her to take the lead.

"Interlopers," the fire wielding witch scoffed. "They tried to interfere with the ceremony."

"Yet one of them is a spirit," the dark-haired man added, a curious smile adorning his features as he stepped beside the red-haired witch. "A victim of your spell, perphaps. Most interesting.

Tell me what business do you have here? Why would you want to meddle with things beyond your understanding?"

"The only one aswering questions here is you. And you can start by telling us who the hell you are? And why you're doing all this?" Eric demanded, tightening his grip around his weapon.

A scathing look crossed the blond man's face as he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder as the dark-haired man stepped forward. "Ahh… you are protectors of this realm, I presume. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Kayn and this is my brother Kazak. We are simply here to take back what is rightfully ours and your efforts to interfere with that, no matter how valiant are futile."

"We'll see about that," Eric growled as he raised his Quantum Defender.

Kazak laughed as he joined his brother. "Careful boy, you damage these mortal shells and we will return to our original forms. But these poor souls who so generously loaned us their bodies will have nowhere to go."

Dark eyes hardened as Eric lowered his weapon while Ashely demanded to know what they wanted. "What every immortal being who had been unjustly locked away for millenia wants. Freedom, power and most of all revenge."

"And thanks to our lovely friends here," Kayn added, gesturing to the three witches, "As Hallow's Eve fall, so we shall rise and have it all."

"Revenge?" Danny echoed. "What does that have to do with our world?"

"Nothing," Kayn replied. "This world, so often mocked by our kind and squandered by its own inhabitants has much potential. It is the perfect place to begin our new reign."

"So you're going to let thousands of people suffer for some twisted revenge scheme?" Taylor voiced.

Kazak's eyes widened as he stepped forward, the smile wiped from his face as his lips pressed together."What is a few mortal lives to a world free from the control of those vile arbiters who saw fit to rob us of our power, our standing and left us to rot in that abhorrent place," he seethed.

Kayn held out his hand and he stopped, pulling back to stand at full height as he looked down at them once more. "You must forgive my brother, the last few millennia have been trying," he said calmly, fixing them a cold yellow stare. "I must confess that we have no love for mortals but our battle is with those who imprisoned us, not with them. Stand aside now and those that are left behind will not be allowed to waste away. When our army gathers there will be much use for them."

"You're insane," Ashley yelled. "Whoever put you away had good reason. Go back to wherever it is you crawled out of. This world will never be yours."

"Not without a fight," Taylor added.

"You insolent fools," Kazak growled but Kayn once again stopped him.

"If it is a fight they want, then who are we to deny them brother?"

"Why should we waste our time with these pitiful creatures? We have more important things to prepare for."

Kayn walked in front of him, his eyes assessing each of the four rangers standing before him, lips curling into a smug smile before turning back to his brother as he flexed his fingers. "Our true power will not return until the veil descends, until then we can do nothing. So why not use the time to see what these mortal shells can do and amuse ourselves a little, it has been so long.

He turned around to face the rangers and held out his hands, the witches stepping forward to join him as he locked glares with Eric. "Do what you must protectors. The hour of reckoning is upon us and it is we who shall reign supreme, this time it is we who shall be judge, jury and executioner."

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and share your thoughts.

Till next time...


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks so much for the reviews.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 14:_ Spellraising_**

A white light emanated from Dana and Katie's joined hands hitting the glowing jack-o-lantern inside the cauldron they were standing around, before bouncing back and forcing them to stumble apart. "Faex!" Katie cursed as she threw her hands in the air and turned away.

"Well that didn't work," Kendall commented as she stepped up to the cauldron and peered inside.

"If you have another idea you, now would be a good time to share it," Katie snapped, making Kendall roll her eyes. "What I meant was, we've tried the same thing over and over again," she bit out. With different combinations, but whether it's one of us, all three or just two, nothing seems to be working. So maybe we need to do something different."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Dana as she flexed her fingers.

Kendall looked down at the notebook in her hands and took a moment to re-read the scribbles she had been leafing through before addressing the other witches again. "What if we're going about this the wrong way? I get that reversing the spell is the right way to do this, since we don't have a way to actually break the curse. But what if it's not the only way?"

Katie walked back to the table staring at the leaves of paper on which they had written all the spells, potions and combinations they had tried, crossing off the latest one, before pulling her hat off her head and setting it on the table. "This is a very complex spell," she voiced with a slight edge to her tone. "One that was very carefully crafted with very specific ingredients that have a specific meaning in this world. Why else would a witch use a carved pumpkin as anchor?"

"Exactly," Kendall pointed out as she joined her. "And even with the list of items Commander Myers gave us we are not closer to finding out how it was cast, let alone finding a way to reverse it."

"It is the only way to undo this," Kaite insisted as she slammed her hands on the table.

"But what if it isn't?" Kendall countered, very aware that both the other witches were staring at her. She took a deep breath and placed the notebook on the table and began to explain, "Look, I'm usually all for doing things by the book, honestly winging it is more my younger sister's thing. But I've been reading these notes that one of those girls wrote and it talks about not being in a world of magic, not having all their powers and having to find a different way to keep magic alive. We have tried reversing the spell and clearly it's not working and we are running out of time, so one way or another we are dooming these people. Why not try a different approach?"

Dana turned away from them, returning to the cauldron and staring at the floating pumpkin inside while Katie shook her head, "You want us to experiment with the unknown? Hallow's Eve is almost at its end, this no time to, how do the mortals say it?... Yes, think outside-the-box."

"Why think outside-the-box when we can think inside the pumpkin?" said Dana, turning around to face the others with a wide grin on her face.

Katie and Kendall shared a look before turning back to the blonde. "You're making even less sense than this one," the curly haired witch scoffed, but Dana ignored her as she ploughed on. "Don't you get it? You're both right. About a different approach and about it being too dangerous to try something radically complex. But there is another option."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Kendall.

Dana walked around the cauldron and held her hands out gesturing to the pumpkin. "The answer has been right in front of us all along. The pumpkin is the anchor which means it's been fortified to contain the spell. So instead of trying a complex way to reverse it, why not use a simple spell, backed by the power of three witches to pull the magic back into the pumpkin?"

Kendall's eyes lit up as she joined her by the cauldron. "It won't get rid of the spell but it might just be enough to release those who have been affected before midnight." She turned back to Kaite, confidently meeting her eyes, "What do you think?"

* * *

Circuit flapped his metallic wings as he flew down the upstairs hallway of the Collins mansion, yellow eyes glowing as they scanned each room on the lookout for the remaining Time Force Rangers. Time was ticking away and they had strict orders to return before midnight, so one way or another, he needed to get the team on the Time Ship, though he had no idea how he was going to explain to Alex why he was returning with a robot, a couple of superheroes and a witch. That is if there was a Time Force when they got back. If Eric and the others weren't able to stop this madness there was no telling what would happen to the timeline.

He resisted the urge to scan for changes as he flew into the nearest open door, coming to a stop when he noticed a black-clad figure sitting on the writing desk with jewels scattered around her while a large safe lay wide open on the wall behind her.

"Hello beautiful," Nadira purred as she picked up a long velvet box and opened it to reveal a string of diamonds. She pulled them out and hung the necklace before her eyes, carefully examining the stones

"Nadira stop! You shouldn't be doing that," he chirped.

She gracefully looked up, twirling the necklace around her finger stared at him with a scowl.

"The name is Catwoman," she sneered. "Now go away you little pest before I decide I'm in the mood for a late night snack." Hopping off the desk she turned around and picked up the bag she found and began shoving all the valuables from the safe into it.

"I'd listen to the bird, if I were you," a heavy English accent announced and Circuit was relieved to see Andros walk into the room with his gun raised. There was the small fact that he still thought he was James Bond but at least he was on their side.

Nadira lowered the bad onto the desk and turned around to find herself staring at the barrel of gun. "Hello there handsome," she purred as sauntered towards them. "Be a good boy and put that away, would you? We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."

"That M'lady is entirely up to you."

Circuit looked from Nadira to Andros, both locked in a staring match and neither moving an inch. There was a mischievous smile on the would-be-thief's face while the so called super spy was sporting a smirk of his own. "I'll leave this to you," he said to Andros before leaving the room in search of Jen.

The sound of loud voices reached him as he made his way downstairs leading him to the front door where Jen was standing guard arguing with Alyssa and Cole. "Let us go," Alyssa cried. "You can't keep us locked up in here. We need to get home."

"For the last time, you're not going anywhere," Jen snarled. "It's too dangerous outside. Stay put."

Cole took a step towards her but Alyssa stopped him. "Look, I don't know who you are or why you're doing this? But Tarzan here isn't used to being cooped up inside a building, if you don't let him go outside, things aren't going to be pleasant for you. Now let us go."

Jen took a step forward, her face slowly changing and her words dripping with venom, "Like I told you when you tried to break the window, NO ONE IS GETTING OUT!"

Alyssa screamed and Cole called out "Monster" before rushing her but the vampire was ready for him. Grabbing his hands with her own and planting her feet in the ground before using her newfound strength to fling him across the room, straight into the staircase.

"Tarzan!" Alyssa cried as she ran after him while Circuit flew over to Jen who was watching them with a murderous gleam in her eyes.

"Jen calm down," he soothed. "You don't really want to hurt them, they're your friends, it's not their fault. This is not you."

She took a deep breath and the robot relaxed as he watched her face return to normal. "Thanks Circuit," she whispered. "Sending Lucas along with the others was a bad idea. It's getting harder to keep it together. I don't know what's stronger, the urge to wring their necks or drink their blood."

"Hang in there, we'll get through this."

"How much time do we have left?"

Circuit's eyes glowed as he projected the bold digits that showed them the time ticking away to midnight. "Fifteen minutes, just great," Jen grumbled as they moved down the hallway. "Why is it taking them so long to undo this?"

* * *

Katie completed the chalk circle around the cauldron and looked up at the other two witches who were huddled around a scrap of paper whispering to each other. "Do you have a spell yet?" she asked as she returned to the shelf, browsing through the glass jars.

"We're getting there," Kendall pointed out. "Spell writing is something my sisters usually handle. But Sabrina here as a knack for rhyming."

"Let's just say I've been in too many situations where I've had to come up with spells on the run. But this is not working," Dana grumbled as she scratched out a line.

"This is far more complicated," Kaite scoffed out as she emptied a jar of cinnamon into a bowl and reached for the box of sage. "Your witchcraft is feeble if you rely on such silly things like rhymes. You need only to speak clearly of what you want, straight and true, leaving nothing to chance." She emptied the last of the lavender and rosemary into the bowl and crushed the herbs together, before proceeding to sprinkling them around the circle she had drawn.

"That's easy for you to say," Kendall grumbled as she turned her attention back to the sheet of paper just as Dana grabbed it and scribbled a few lines before handing it back to her. "That might work," she murmured. "But we'll have to change this bit here."

"Right," Dana nodded. "And move this line here."

Katie smirked as she returned the bowl and pulled a large jar with flat stones as balck as coal towards her. Her eyes lifted to the clock on the wall before dropping to the witches still working on the spell.

* * *

Jen stopped short when she saw Maya slowly walking towards Wes who had his cape covering the lower half of his face while his eyes stared into the young woman's eyes. "Wes," she whispered but her eyes widened as she watched him grab a listless Maya, pulling her against him as drew his head back, baring his fangs.

"No!" she cried, using her speed to ram into them, forcing them apart before she grabbed Maya by the shoulders and sped her to the other room and returning to face Wes. He growled as snarled as he gracefully leapt to his feet. Jen instinctively reacted, her face shifting as they squared off.

To her surprise, he instantly calmed down, pulling his fangs back as the darkness in his eyes faded. "You most certainly are a magnificent creature," he said in a smooth voice that sent an involuntary chill down her spine. "But right now I'm craving something a little more alive."

With every word his tone grew darker and venomous as his eyes darkened once more.

The sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears and she turned around to see Andros running in but when she turned back to Wes, he was gone. "Damn it!" she growled as she shifted back to normal.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"No," she snapped as she turned to face him. "What's going on?"

"Our little cat burglar has agreed to not to turn tail and run for the moment," he informed her as he adjusted his jacket. "She's striking up a conversation with our friend from the mob as we speak. However, Frankenstien's monster, and this zombie fellow seem to have broken out of their holds."

"Fine," she growled. "You get the zombie, I'll keep the monster away from the doctor."

* * *

Kendall lit the candles around the cauldron and stepped into the circle, joining the other two witches. "Are you ready?" asked Dana as she held out her hands, the other two nodded, reaching out with their own hands to form a triangle.

"This is our only chance," the brunette whispered. "I hope it works."

"It's not the best spell written but it will serve our purpose," Katie pointed out. "I should not have to tell you this, but unless you believe in what you speak and the magic behind your words it will have no effect."

"Let's do this," Dana declared.

"As one," Kaite concluded, nodding to the two of them as they fell silent, dropping their heads as they focused their energy, willing it to flow from one to the other, merging into one unified force. The wind stirred around them as the crystals placed at their feet began to glow a bright blue and the candles burned brighter. Together they looked up and recited, "Powers of the casters three, hear our call, head our plea. Return now to that which holds, this wicked curse from time untold. Before the end of this hallowed night, free your captives from your might."

The wind grew stronger as their joined palms began to glow. "Ad ex qua venisti," Katie lead as a beam of light shot out of her and Kendall's joined hands and hitting the pumpkin inside the cauldron.

"Ad ex qua venisiti," Kendall repeated, as a light came forth from her and Dana's joined hands.

"Ad ex qua venisiti," Dana concluded, the light emerging from her and Katie's joined hands.

The candles blew out and the basement lit up as a bright light shot out of the pumpkin passing through the floorboards reaching up to the sky. The three witches held on to each other, eyes closed as they continued to focus while the wind howled and light bulbs shattered around them. Across the city a veil of green smoke lifted into the air, drifting towards the light where it began to swirl, faster and faster like a raging tornado surrounding the little store before contracting as it lowered into the pumpkin, growing smaller and smaller until all the smoke was contained.

The wind settled and the basement was flooded with darkness, the flashing green glow of the pumpkin, the only source of light. "Did we do it?" Dana asked after a moment of silence, not daring to be the first to break free.

"It would seem so," Katie declared as she pulled her hands free. "Perhaps we should have insisted the spirit stay behind to confirm it but nevertheless, it appears I was mistaken, the two of you are indeed true witches."

"We could have told you that," Kendall voiced. "We should probably go topside and check though, before we find Commander Myers and find a way home.

"But what do we do with…" Dana began, stopping short as the glowing pumpkin began to rise out of the cauldron. Katie stepped back as Kendall raised her hands a loud scream escaping her lips.

* * *

That's it for now. Please do review and let me know what you think.

Till next time...


	15. Chapter 15

Here's the next chapter

* * *

**Chapter 15: _Coming Undone_**

Kendall blinked as she lowered her hands and looked around but all she could see was darkness. A shiver ran down her spine as she became aware of something cold, wet and slimy sitting on her head and splattered across her face but she didn't dare to move. "Hello, is anyone there?" she called out. Silence followed but out of the corner of her eye she saw something shift in the darkness and screamed.

A bright light cut through the dark and she was forced to shield her eyes as she stumbled back almost tripping on a loose floorboard. "Kendall is that you?"

She looked up as the light moved away from her face and hit the ceiling, illuminating the room just enough for her to distinguish Katie using her morpher as a flashlight. "Katie?" another voice out as a second beam of light emerged, illuminating another familiar face. "Dana?"

"Where are we?" asked the blonde, fanning her phone around the room to get a better look, before turning it back on her to examine her sleeve, her face screwed up in disgust, "And is anyone else covered in gooey stuff?"

"Yeah, what's with that?" Katie echoed as she brushed the back of her hand against her cheek.

Kendall steadied her footing and took a deep breath before reaching up into her hair to pull out one of the chunks and got out her phone out to examine it closely "It's pumpkin."

"Pumpkin?" the other two echoed before Katie's light swung around illuminating the object that sat between them. "Is that a cauldron?"

* * *

At the Silver Guardians Headquarters, four guardians stood behind the gate, guns pointed at the large bulking dragon threatening to barge through. The creature's serpentine neck arched over them, heavy jaws opening and closing, revealing rows of pointed teeth as it roared, while a young woman with platinum blonde hair shouted down at them.

"Do you understand what she's saying?" asked the guardian closest to the gate.

"Not a clue," said the second as he adjusted his grip on his gun, "But someone really needs to get the Commanders out here."

"It sounds like Valyarian," the third said casually. "What? Don't you guys watch TV?" he added when his colleagues shot him a look.

The dragon roared and a loud bang followed as one of their colleagues fired a shot that nicked the dragon's neck before bouncing harmlessly to the side. The woman screamed and pointed to the man, "Draca…"

The guardians blinked as they stared up at the sky, the dragon vanishing right before their eyes. They shared a look as they lowered their weapons but none of them said a word. A soft noise outside the gate caught their attention and they hesitated until the guardian closest to the gate slipped into the guardhouse to check the camera and feed and just stared. Blinking up at him was a teenage girl in a blue dress with a blonde wig falling off her head with a little kid in a dragon costume whimpering beside her.

* * *

"Back off," Jen growled as she pushed Frankenstein's monster back into the wall, but the resilient monster sprung back grabbing her neck and strangling her. "Only want master," it croaked as she struggled, looking around for help, but Andros was stuck keeping Max at bay while Circuit was trying to talk Cole away from the windows.

She tugged at the creatures as she was pushed against the railing and looked up into dark eyes filled wide with rage. Suddenly, the grip around her neck eased and the eyes she was staring into were filled with confusion as the hulking monster shrunk before her. "Jen?"

Jen blinked and stole the opportunity to pull out of his grasp completely, coughing as she turned around to find Andros and Max staring at each other, the former armed with a curtain rod. "Dude, did you just try to kill me?"

"Uh Jen… what's going on?"

She turned back to Joel who was staring at his hands as Circuit flew up to her. "They did it Jen," he chirped. "Everyone's back to normal."

"Yeah," she whispered as she checked her watch. "With time to spare."

"I'm going to find Trip."

Jen watched him fly off before turning around to the others , Andros dropped the rod he was holding as Max backed away while Cole and Alyssa just turned around in circles. She heard Joel call out to her again but she ignored him as she stared at her hands, a cry of relief escaping her lips when she saw the colour return to them and immediately patted down her face and checked her teeth. When she found everything in order she stopped moving and just closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

* * *

Officer Greene continued to stare up at the sky clutching her necklace long after the pillar of light had unravelled, the thought of how she had failed weighing her down, making it impossible to move. She knew her suspicions weren't wrong, yet she decided to do this on her own, this was her chance to prove she was ready to do more, to help bring justice. But she had failed and in doing so doomed this world.

"There you are."

She turned around as the red clad superhero appeared beside her. "We should…" he trailed off and blinked before taking a step back, the determination in his eyes turning to confusion as he stared at her for a moment, then turned around in his place. "How did I get here?" he asked as he pulled back his cowl and turned to her once again. "And who are you?"

She blinked at the dark haired man staring at her and pulled her head back. "Don't you remember? Commander Myers asked you to bring me here?"

"Eric? Eric hasn't even made it to the party yet. And why would he ask me to bring you to… a hospital? Again, who are you?"

But she ignored his questions as she stepped closer, looking straight into his eyes. "You remember who you are," she stated.

"Am I not supposed to?" he asked backing away. "Look are you a friend of Eric's or something? I can call him if you want."

But she had already turned away, once again looking up at the sky. "He did it," she whispered and checked her watch. "There's still time, I can still fix this."

She tugged at her necklace and held it out in her hand which was enveloped in a swirl of purple smoke which faded to reveal a thin crystal wand with an intricate silver handle.

* * *

Danny hovered back as Eric stepped forward with Taylor and Ashley at his side as they faced off against the three witches and the warlocks still in possession of the human bodies. "Silly mortals, do you really think you can stop us," Kazak goaded.

"We'll see about that," Ashley challenged as she tightened her grip across the batons and stepped forward but the red headed witch reacted immediately holding her hand out before swinging it to the side sending Ashley flying across the clearing. Danny's eyes widened as he watched Taylor rush in and knock the witch to the ground before quickly dodging a fireball. With the witches surrounding Taylor, the blond man launched himself at Eric who met him blow for blow.

Leaving his friends to take care of themselves the ghost flew over to where Ashley had fallen but as he got closer he found himself crashing to the ground. With a groan he pushed himself up, coughing out the dirt and grass that had made its way into his mouth. He heard a groan and looked up only to find everything blurred. He patted down his face and found his askew glasses. Once the world became cleared, the first thing he was was Ashley sitting up and scrambled over to her.

"What the… Danny?" she asked as he crawled up to her. He stared at her, red hair turned back to brown and a hint of colour returning to her pale cheeks, before placing hand against his heart and taking a deep breath. "Danny what's going on? Where are we?"

"Oh… you don't remember right," he stumbled as he helped her to her feet. "It's a long story and I'll explain later but right now there are bad guys to deal with and Taylor and Eric need our help."

"What are you…" she stopped short when she heard the fighting in the distance and nodded before taking after him.

They reached them just as Taylor was knocked on to the ground and immediately rushed to her side "Taylor!" he exclaimed. She grunted as she pushed herself to her feet but her eyes widened when she saw him. "They did it," he whispered.

"That explains where my strength suddenly went," she grunted as the witches closed in on them.

"So apparently I missed a lot," Ashley whispered as she joined her and slid into a fighting stance.

"Something like that," the blonde pointed out before nodding towards the batons in her hand. "You still know how to use those?"

"Not my weapon of choice, but they'll do," she admitted before turning back to the witches who had stopped advancing and just stared at them, before the blonde and blue-haired witch turned to the one in the middle.

In the meantime, Eric landed a clean uppercut to Kazak's jaw sending him stumbling back. He turned back to the others and his eyes widened when he saw Danny in the flesh and witches surrounding them. He fired a shot forcing the witches to jump back as he regrouped with the others giving their opponents a chance to do the same.

"Are you guys okay?"

"It looks like trusting the witches paid off. But we also lost our advantage," Taylor whispered as she flexed her fingers and curled them into fists."

"You never needed it," he whispered as he raised his weapon and pointed it at their opponents."

"Hmm… interesting," Kayn murmured as he joined the others, sparing a glance at his brother who was nursing his jaw before turning back to the rangers as he assessed Danny and the change in Ashley. "Well Callista it seems chaos will not rule this night. Your spell has been undone."

"Impossible," she mumbled.

"We're kind of used to doing the impossible," Danny declared. "So you might as well forget about whatever it is your planning."

Kazak grunted and Kayn smiled, stepping past the still stunned witches. "So you managed to undo a spell, I'll admit that for a race so ignorant of magic it is impressive but it has nothing to do with what we have planned. Come midnight, the mortals will take our discarded shells back to our prison and our powers will return, then nothing can stop us from showing you the true meaning of chaos."

"We're not going to let that happen," Eric stated as he stepped in front of the others and held up his morpher as he called out, Quantum Power!"

He emerged from a flash of light in his ranger form with his Quantum Defender at his side. The witches stepped back, a look of surprise on their faces but Kayn had a smile on his face his hand glowing a bright yellow as he stepped forward. "You just keep getting more interesting."

The light spiraled out of his hand taking the form of a sword. Kazak smiled as he joined his brother, mirroring his actions and conjuring a sword of his own. Eric immediately shifted his weapon into balde mode and leaped forward. Kayn met his blade head on while Kazak attacked from the side but he pulled back just in time and turned around him lashing out with a kick, before getting down on one knee to block Kayn's sword.

In the meantime, the witches once again gathered around the other three rangers who stood their ground. "What? No fancy light show or armour for you?" the fire-wielding witch teased as her fists once again burst into flames.

"We may not be able to morph," Ashley stated as she twirled the batons in her hands and tightened her grip on them.

"But we're still rangers," Taylor added as she steadied her stance and raised her fists.

"And we never give up," Danny finished off, slipping into a stance of his own.

"How touching," Callista mocked as she stepped forward but Ashley hurled a baton at her forcing her to use her powers to deflect it and giving Taylor the opportunity to rush her and knock her to the ground.

The blue-haired witch roared and aimed a burst of flames at her which she dodged before running ahead and closing the distance between them. The blonde witch on the other hand closed in on Danny, a grin on her face as she played with a lock of hair. "Looks like it's just you and me," she teased as she stepped closer. But before Danny could retort she vanished.

He stepped back and looked from side to side, looking for any sign of movement when he felt something strike his foot and he tripped forward. He stumbled forward but kept his footing and spun around before duck rolling to the side. A smile on his face as he watched the witch appear as she stumbled forward. "It's been a while since I've been in a fight but I still remember what my friend taught me."

A few feet away Ashley dodged fireballs as she tried to move in on her opponent. "I'm getting a strange sense of dejavu here," she mumbled as she dropped to the ground.

"This time I'm going to burn you to a crisp," the witch hollered as she held out her palms. Flames burned but quickly flickered out. Her eyes dropped to her hands and she threw them out, igniting them again before they fizzled out once more. Seizing the opportunity Ashley scrambled to her feet and lunged forward and knocked her back with the swing of her baton. "Looks like you're burned out."

In the meantime, Taylor had Callista on her back but the witch used her powers to lift a barrage of stones into the air and send them flying at her forcing her to duck and swerve but she still couldn't escape, ending up on one knee using her forearms to keep the stones from hitting her face. They both got to their feet and the same time but before the witch could raise her hands Taylor stepped in throwing a punch to her face followed a kick to her middle forcing her to double over. "You will pay for that," she grunted but Taylor just stepped forward.

"We'll see. I've dealt with a lot of weird tonight and you're by far the most normal. And guess what? I don't have to worry about hurting you."

She leaned forward and struck her again with a right hook but as she brought up her left fist Callista held out her hand and narrowed her eyes stopping it inched away from her face. Her face twisted in concentration and Taylor could feel the force against her hand, she pushed back but the witch wasn't giving way either. She dug her feet into the ground and raised her other fist when she felt a force push against her middle and was thrown back onto the ground.

"Do not test me mortal," the witch threatened as she stepped closer, throwing her hand out to her side. "And do not underestimate my power."

Taylor grunted as she tried to stand but the witch drew her hand back and before she realised what was happening the witch drew her hand back and another body crashed into her.

"Wha…"

"Danny?" she groaned, as she pushed against the wait crushing her.

"What's going on?" he grunted as he rolled away and took a deep breath.

Before Taylor could put together a response another body crashed into them as Ashley joined the party. She groaned and coughed as she rolled onto the grass and blinked as the three witches regrouped and grinned down at them. "Superpowers suck," she grumbled.

"Callico destroy them," Callista ordered.

The rangers looked up, each breathing heavily as the blue-haired witch stepped forward, her hand engulfed in flames. They cringed as she threw her arms forward, flames shooting out of her hands. But before it could hit them the wind stirred carrying a gentle whisper as they were surrounded by a dome of light that absorbed the flames.

They pushed themselves up into a sitting position and looked at each other but their attention was soon drawn to their right hands which began to glow. The dome fell, revealing three shocked witches but the rangers eyes were fixed on their hands as the glow faded leaving behind very familiar objects.

* * *

That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please do review and share your thoughts.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Charmed. Piper has as second power that allows her to blow things up, which is essentially what Kendall did to the pumpkin.

Till next time...


	16. Chapter 16

So this definitely took a lot longer to get done than I imagined. But sometimes life happens and there's nothing you can do but deal with it and write when the opportunity presents itself.

To those of you who have been waiting for this thank you for patience. Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 16:_ It's Morphin' Time_**

"No!" Eric cried as he watched Callista drag his friends to the ground. Kayn used his distraction to swerve past his defences and land a powerful strike with his sword that sent him crashing to the ground. He gasped as he tried to pull himself together, reaching for the weapon that had fallen out of his hand while Kazak's laughter rang in his ears as he stepped forward to deliver a blow of his own.

"I'm disappointed mortal, I expected more of a fight. I'm afraid this is the end for you and your little fri… What is that?"

Kazak stopped his swing when he heard the note of surprise in his brother's voice and turned to look at the dome of light that now surrounded the others. Eric used the opportunity to roll away and grab his fallen weapon. He quickly shifted it back into blaster mode and fired a round of shots, forcing both his opponents to fall back as he ran towards the others, reaching them just as the dome faded.

Ashley. Danny and Taylor remained unmoving as the witches shared a look between them before Callico raised her arms again. Eric quickly fired three shots in succession forcing them to jump back as he stepped in front of his friends. "Are you guys okay?"

"Uh huh" Danny replied as he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes fixed on the gold flip phone with a very familiar bison motif in his hand. "How?" he asked as he looked up at Taylor but she was just as surprised as he was.

Kayn and Kazak lazily joined the three witches as they watched the rangers regroup, the latter grumbling about not liking surprises. "It appears you mortals still have a few surprises up your sleeve. Though you seem more surprised by this than we are," Kayn drawled. "But all this dillydallying is such a waste of our time, I thought you were serious about protecting your world, but it appears not. We should just end this once and for all. Girls…"

He trailed off as the three witches stepped forward, holding each others hands as their pendants began to glow and their lips stretched into sinister smiles. Eric trained his weapon on them but took a step back when they were suddenly surrounded by clones of the witches.

"What the…" he mumbled as he heard the others turn. He fired a shot but it went right through the witch standing before him. "They're not real," he called back eliciting a laugh that echoed around them. "Perhaps," Callista's voice rang above the echo. "But that doesn't mean we can't hurt you."

The circle of witches raised their hands as their amulets continued to glow "Now what?" Ashley grumbled as their hands began to glow. The rangers stepped closer together watching the witches cautiously until a barrage of blue energy bolts rained down on them, dispersing the circle and forcing the witches to take a step back.

"What is this?" Kazak grumbled

The rangers' attention however was focused on the dark haired man in a bright red suit that landed next to Eric. "Did you wear those with your costume?" Eric asked nodding to the holster strapped around his teammate's waist as he trained his Chrono blasters on their opponents.

"Nope, your new friend made that happen. I have to say though, I'm offended you decided to party without us. I thought we were making progress."

"Save the drama for later," Taylor bit out as she stepped between them. "It's time to show our friends here why you don't mess with Earth."

"Fighting words mortal," Kazak mocked. "The question is, can you see them through?"

"Oh, we can," Ashley declared as she fell in line beside Eric, strapping her morpher to her wrist.

"You can bet on it," Danny added as he stepped up beside Lucas who holstered his blasters and pushed down his sleeve to reveal his morpher.

"Ready?" Taylor called out

"Ready", the other three chorused

Ashley raised her hand and pressed the familiar digits on her morpher as she called out, "Let's Rocket".

Lucas immediately raised his morpher and brought his other hand upwards to hit the button as he called out, "Time For Time Force".

Taylor and Danny flipped open their morphers and raised it up to their ears, pressing down on the button in unison as they cried, "Wild Access! Ha!"

They were each enveloped in a flash of light before emerging in their ranger suits. "For old time's sake?" Ashley asked

"Why not," Taylor replied, prompting the former to slip into a stance and call out "Power Yellow!"

"Time Force Blue!" Lucas followed

"Iron Bison"

"Soaring Eagle"

"Quantum Ranger"

"Power Rangers," they called out together as an explosion sounded sending pillars of coloured smoke into the air.

The witches and warlocks shared a look of confusion. "Is that magic?" Camryn asked softly while her sister clenched her fists beside her. Callista narrowed her eyes at the five rangers and called for her sisters to calm themselves, reminding them that the night was in their favour.

"You put on quite the show," Callista sneered, calling out to the rangers. "But it's not going to do you much good."

"We'll see about that," Ashley shot back as she summoned her Star Slinger and leaped into the air, firing a shot at Callista, forcing her to jump back. The brunette landed in front of her and immediately went on the offensive, lashing out at her with a right hook. The other witches moved in but Danny charged into Callico knocking her off balance while Lucas stepped in to steal Camryn's attention.

* * *

"It looks like it is just us once again," Kayn teased as she stepped closer to Eric and Taylor, running his fingers along the edge of his blade, his brother mirroring his actions.

"Only this time the odds are even," Taylor countered, summoning her sword as Eric quickly shifted his Quantum Defender back to blade mode.

"Do you expect us to believe that a mortal woman is going to make a difference in this fight?" Kazak scoffed.

"Shouldn't have said that," Eric mumbled as he stepped forward to meet Kayn's blade while Taylor charged at Kazak, leaping over him as he lunged forward and aiming a kick to his back before she landed. He stumbled forward, his free hand flailing as he tried to stay upright. His eyes glowed when he turned around and a growl escaped his lips followed by a roar as he charged at her.

Taylor stood her ground, meeting his sword with her own and countered. Kazak grunted as he swung his blade wildly, throwing jabs and strikes in a frenzy. "It doesn't take much to set you off, does it?" she teased as she blocked every strike. She leaned back to give herself more room but he moved in with a titled jab, forcing her to turn out of the way as she brought her own blade down with a clean strike that he barely managed to block.

Kayn on the other hand was keeping Eric busy with clean movements and swift strikes that had the Quantum Ranger playing defence. "It appears my brother may have underestimated your friend," he said calmly as he stepped out of the reach of Eric's blade before leaning back in with a swing of his own. "You don't know the half of it," Eric grunted as he fended off the attack.

A soft chuckle escaped the warlock's lips before he whispered that the mortals were indeed interesting. He leaned forward with a sharp jab but Eric dodged to the side and spun around in time to grab Kay's sword arm, keeping the blade at bay while he knocked him back with his elbow.

Behind him Taylor lashed out at Kazak with a kick to his chest forcing him to stumble forward and crash into his brother as she jumped back to Eric's side. "Are you ready to give up now?"

The two brothers steadied their footing and looked at each other before laughing. "Why would we do something so foolish?" Kazak goaded. "Victory will be ours." Kayn sidled next to him and as one they raised their swords and lunged forward. The synchronized attack took Eric and Taylor by surprise, forcing them to step back to block but the warlocks kept at it, striking and deflecting in perfect sync, switching between opponents with practiced ease that pushed the two rangers on the backfoot.

* * *

Meanwhile, Callista managed to breakaway from the lock Ashely had her in and was concentrating on deflecting shots from her slinger. "This is pointless," the witch yelled as she sent an energy pellet flying into the trees. "You are out of time. There is nothing you can do to stop what's coming."

"You just don't know us very well," Ashley retorted as she lowered her weapon to recharge. But it gave Callista the opportunity to use her powers to raise rocks into the air and focus them on the Space Ranger only for her to draw her Astro Blaster and destroy them before combining her weapons and charging forward.

Lucas lunged forward with his sabre but stopped and stumbled forward when Camryn disappeared from sight. He paused and looked from left to right before a heel struck him in the chest forcing him to stumble backwards. "Really," he grumbled as he found his footing once more. "This song and dance is getting a little old. How about we switch things up a bit."

"Why?" Camryn teased as she reappeared in front of him. "I quite like this dance."

"Hate to break this to you, but playing hard to get kinda takes the fun out of it, especially since I'm on the clock. See my fairy godfather was pretty strict about the whole midnight thing, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to wrap this up. There's no way I'm pissing him off."

Her lips twisted into a wicked smile as she raised her hand over her amulet which immediately began to glow. "Oh I don't think you need to worry about him. You're not going to be alive much longer." She lowered her hand as a beam of yellow energy shot out of the amulet. He dropped to the ground and rolled aside before propping himself up on one knee as he joined his sabers into a single blade and swung it to send bolts of blue energy flying towards her.

Danny swung his axe to deflect a fireball as he ran in to get closer to Callico but was forced to dive to the side to avoid the next one. He got right up and charged again. "Why won't you just burn, you miserable insect?"

"Well technically, I'm a bison," he pointed out. "And we don't burn easily." With a frustrated growl she pulled her hands back before throwing a stream of fire his way forcing him to stop but with no time to duck all he could do was draw his axe in front of him to shield him from the blow. His weapon absorbed most of the attack but it was still powerful enough to push him back. When the flames died down they were both left panting, he barely able to stand and her hunched forward, hands hanging at her side as she glared at him.

He stumbled backwards, lowering his axe as he tried to catch his breath but his eyes widened when he watched her hand reach for her amulet. Drawing on all the strength he had left he raised his axe and spun it in the air before bringing it crashing down onto the ground sending a shockwave through the earth that knocked her off her feet.

* * *

Not far off, Taylor and Eric backed into each other and stumbled awkwardly as they tried to defend against the warlock brothers. Kayn slipped through the opening between them and struck Taylor sending her crashing to the ground but even as Eric turned around Kazak leaned in getting in a strike of his own.

"This is not good," Taylor grumbled as she pushed herself to her feet. "You can say that again," Eric agreed. "They're next level when they're fighting together." He turned to her unspoken words lingering on his lips but she voiced them for him, "And we're not exactly pulling off the tag team thing today."

Eric shrugged and turned around, holding his blade steady as the warlocks advanced with smug grins etched across the faces of the humans they were inhabiting. "Tay…" he began but was forced to dive out of the way to avoid Kayn's sword while Taylor leaped over Kazak to dodge his attack but as she landed Kayn was waiting her and she barely managed to deflect before being thrown back where she once again rammed into Eric.

"You have lost," Kazak goaded. "Within minutes everything you are fighting for will cease to exist as you know it. You might as well stand still and accept your fate."

"I hate to say it but we're not going to beat them at this game," Eric mumbled as he grabbed Taylor's waist to steady her. "Then let's change it," she suggested as she stepped out of his hold and turned her attention to their opponents who were now circling them. He watched her for a second before his eyes widened and his lips curled into a smirk under his helmet. "Divide and conquer?" he asked as he turned to follow Kayn.

"Divide and conquer," she replied as she tightened her grip on her sword and narrowed her eyes following Kazak's every step. The warlock charged but she was ready and blocked his attack before diggin her feet into the ground as she pushed back, forcing him to pull his sword back just enough to create an opening for her to lash out with a kick that made him stumble before tripping on to his back. Kayn moved in but Eric stepped in his path lunging forward with a strike of his own while Taylor charged at the fallen warlock, grabbing his arm before leaping into the air and spreading her arms as her wings appeared.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights," she called back as the stunned warlock latched on to the hand holding him.

Kayn watched in horror as she carried his brother over the trees but Eric drew his attention back to him by swinging his blade. "Sorry, eagles have a one passenger only policy. You're stuck down here with me."

"You fool," Kayn howled as he slashed through the air. "You're wasting your time, there is nothing you can do."

"Then you have nothing to lose," he countered.

* * *

Taylor let go of Kazak after slamming him into the side of a cliff before circling around and throwing darts at him to put him off guard as she landed. Kazak groaned as he pushed himself up and examined his now torn suit jacket. With an angry grunt he tore it off him and glared at her with glowing eyes as he raised his sword. He lunged forward but Taylor easily blocked the attack and side stepped him, forcing him to stumble forward on his own strength. "What happened to all the talk about destroying us?" she teased. "Or was that only for when you had your brother to do the heavy lifting. Hate to break it to you but it's just me and you out here."

A loud roar escaped his lips as he charged at her yelling, "Insolence! A mere mortal woman will not best me." He lashed out swinging his sword left, then right in quick succession but Taylor blocked every strike. She pushed upwards and he took a step back but she surprised him when she fell back a step instead of countering and tilted her head to the side. His eyes narrowed and he leaped forward raising his sword high. Taylor stood her ground and grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands before bending forward and taking a step until she was right under him before rising up to ram the flat of her sword into his stomach.

He stumbled with a grunt, hunching over as he turned around. She kept up the attack by dropping her sword and grabbing his head and kneeing him in the stomach, forcing him to cry out in pain as his sword fell through his fingers. Taylor followed up with a roundhouse kick to his chest when he tried to secure his footing that sent him crashing into the wall of the cliff behind him before he sank to the ground. She retrieved her sword and stood over him watching him slowly lift his head towards her. "Looks like one just did."

Back in the clearing Eric and Kayn continued to match blades but the latter was growing increasingly impatient. "You know you can't stop the inevitable, why do you insist on waiting your strength?"

"And here I thought you wanted the workout," Eric countered as he swung his blade downwards only to be blocked and pushed back.

"That was before you became an annoyance. I remind you that time is not on your side."

"I'll be the judge of that," he shot back before slashing his blade through the air. Kayn stepped back to dodge it and moved in from the side to strike out with his blade. Eric turned around just in time to block it and grunted as he felt his knees bend under his opponents strength. He steadied his stance and dug his feet into the ground using it as a platform to push back against Kayn. With a surge of strength he shoved him off, forcing him to stumble backwards as he charged his sword before taking a step forward and dropping to one knee hitting Kayn's feet and instantly freezing them before he stood and knocked him in the head with the hilt of his weapon. A groan escaped Kayn's lips as his sword slipped through his grasp as he fell back onto the ground and blinked up at the sky.

Breathing heavily, Eric stood over him and held his blade to his throat, "It's over Kayn. It's time to make this all go away." To his surprise the warlock chuckled as he met his eyes with no trace defeat. "Are you going to kill me mortal?" he asked. "That is the only way you can end this. But what about the poor human's soul, it will have nowhere to go but the afterlife. Do you really want that on your hands?"

Taylor swooped in, throwing a groaning Kazak onto the ground beside his brother before landing beside Eric. "Switch back," she demanded as the other rangers walked up behind them.

"Or we can just turn you into popsicles like your friends back there," Lucas called out as he held up his badge.

"Go ahead," Kayn chuckled. "It won't save them. And even if we wanted to switch back, you are out of time. The hour is upon us, you might have won this battle but our war has only just begun. You have lost."

"Not just yet."

The rangers turned around as a woman began walking towards them with a wand in her hand.

"Officer Greene?"

* * *

That's it for now. It didn't turn out quite how I imagined but I decided to go with it. Would love to hear what you think though.

Till next time...


	17. Chapter 17

Hey there, sorry about the long wait. Things have just been a little busy lately.

I hope you're all doing good and staying safe during what I'm sure is a really crazy time for all of us.

Here's the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 17: _Courtly Traditions_**

Eric blinked as a familiar face stepped closer, holding what resembled a wand in her hand. She looked down at the warlocks sprawled on the ground and the frozen witches and her lips curved into a smirk before she turned to the rangers once more. "Well done Commander, I knew I was right to trust you."

"So you knew what was happening all along?" he asked, an edge creeping into his voice even as he eased his stance.

"Not quite. I had my suspicions of what was intended for tonight but I'm afraid the spell cast over the city took me by surprise too."

"What's going on here?" Taylor demanded looking from Eric to the woman.

"I will explain everything. But we really are running out of time," she replied as she looked at her watch, the hands ticking closer and closer to midnight. "Prepare yourselves," she called out as she raised her wand, pointing it towards the sky. Swirls of thick green smoke shot out of the tip, growing larger as they surrounded them.

"Here we go again," Lucas grumbled as the other rangers closed their ranks. But before anyone could ask what he was talking about they were completely engulfed by the smoke.

"Welcome Rangers," a loud voice echoed, forcing them to look around with wide eyes as the smoke cleared, leaving them standing in a dark room with thick white smoke covering the floor. The first thing they noticed was that their helmets were missing and that they were lined up behind some kind of railing just as the warlocks and now unfrozen witches were across from them. To their left was a tall pillar, against which lay the unconscious humans still trapped in the warlocks' bodies and to their right was a high table shrouded in shadows.

Standing in the centre of it all was Officer Greene who traded her uniform in for a poofy black dress and a pointed hat. Her skin had also turned a deep shade of green but there was no mistaking the determined look in her eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Danny

"A friend," she assured them. "You rangers did a commendable job in capturing these fiends. Now it's my turn to ensure that they never hurt anyone ever again."

"What is all this?" Eric demanded

"And where are we?" Ashley added.

"No!"

A frustrated cry from across the room got their attention and they turned to find Kazak leaning against the railing, glaring at the witch with glowing eyes. "How dare you?!" he growled, leaning forward even as his brother placed a hand on his shoulder to reel him in. The witch scowled and flicked her wand creating a large bubble around them. Kazak continued to stomp and shout but they could no longer hear him.

"Much better, that one talks way too much," she stated before turning back to rangers. "Now where were we, yes. My name is Selestra and I am an apprentice Court Witch of this, the Halloween Intergalactic Court."

"Halloween Court?" Danny echoed as the other rangers shared a look.

"Yes," Selestra replied, her eyes lighting up as she continued, "It is a pocket dimension that exists beyond space and time where fiends from across the realms are tried for crimes against innocents and punished for them."

Lucas blinked and rubbed the back of his neck as he asked what they were doing there. "My team and I need to be heading back home before our boss decides to start prepping the memory eraser."

The witch chuckled and told him not to worry as time did not flow inside the court. "You are here as my witnesses," she explained. "You see Kayn and Kazak were once judges of this esteemed court but after a while they began using their power and influence to sentence innocent beings to terrible fates and collecting favours from the rightful criminals. They were discovered, stripped of their position and the new court banished them to the realm of the forgotten. This Hallow's Eve marked the end of their banishment, allowing them to cross between worlds once more."

Eric looked across the room where Kayn had succeeded in calming his brother and was urgently whispering instructions to him and the witches. Their eyes met and the warlock's lips curved into a smirk taking the ranger by surprise.

"What made you think they were going to try something tonight?" he asked as she turned back to Selestra.

"For years I have been hearing whispers of them returning to claim the favours they were owed but I never had proof so I could not bring it to the court. But if they were going to act, tonight was their best chance and your realm, the most vulnerable and the most underestimated. No one would expect an attack from your realm after the veil had closed."

A loud gong echoed through the room forcing Selestra to free the witches and warlocks from the bubble as she turned to face the high table. The table lit up with a fiery, orange glow as dim white lights sprang to life illuminating the floor, the dead trees that surrounded the table and the banners behind the table, each bearing the image of a scale, a jack-o-lantern and a scroll with stars respectively.

A green glow drew their attention to a large cauldron to the far right of the table while a blue glow illuminated a pyramid of stones on the far left. The sound of footsteps followed as two uniform clad figures stepped out of the fog and took their place on either side of the table.

"Are those mummies?" Ashley asked in a whisper forcing the other rangers to take a closer look even as green smoke erupted from behind the cauldron as another witch materialized, dressed just as Selestra was with the addition of a purple patch on the front of her dress that matched the lining of the cape she donned.

Finally, three flames erupted from the stands on the table, each taking the shape of a wrinkled jack-o-lantern as it died down. The glow of their eyes and mouths flickered as they spoke as one, "Who approaches the court? "

"Honoured judges," said Selestra as she bowed to the jack-o-lanterns. "I bring you a case against Lords Kayn and Kazak, former judges of the court and the witches Callista, Callico and Camryn and ask that they be tried for crimes against mortals and plotting against the court. As my witnesses, I present the Power Rangers, heroes of the mortal realm, who were instrumental in capturing these villains."

"The jack-o-lanterns are the judges? I don't get it," Lucas whispered, his eyes fixed on the table where the pumpkins stood.

"Nothing about this makes sense," Eric added, keeping his eyes fixed on Kayn who didn't appear bothered by the proceedings in the least.

The lights within the jack-o-lanterns flickered as a soft buzzing sound echoed around the room but before the judges could speak Kayn cleared his throat and spoke up and addressed them, "Honoured judges, my friends and I have been wrongly accused and forcefully brought here by the machinations of this ambitious apprentice. In light of this, I evoke the tradition of Lucidium Culpae."

"That doesn't sound good," Ashley whispered as Selestra turned sharply towards Kayn, her grip tightening around her wand before slowly turning to face the judges, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes. "Definitely, not good," Taylor echoed as the buzzing resumed.

The judges eyes intensified as the one in the middle spoke in a booming voice, "Request granted, the court will hear both sides and that which is found guilty shall be punished."

"What are you playing at?" Eric shot at Selestra but she just turned to him with a stunned expression on her face, shaking her head slowly.

"What just happened?" asked Danny.

"We're not witnesses anymore," Taylor pointed out. "Either we prove that they are guilty or we're the ones that are going to be sentenced."

"Can they do that? Is that even legal?" Lucas exclaimed.

"They just did, so whatever law Mr. Know-it-all evoked it's legit," Ashley grumbled as Selestra vanished in a puff of smoke only to reappear beside the cauldron where she received a stern glare from the other witch. The jack-o-lanterns flickered once again as they spoke in unison, "The Halloween Intergalactic Court is now in session."

"Court Witch, begin the proceedings," the jack-o-lantern on the left ordered in a high-pitched voice. The witch stepped away from the cauldron and took her place between the two railings before bowing to the judges. "Present the charges!" she declared turning to Selestra.

She looked over at the rangers before taking a deep breath and clearing her throat. Confidently she addressed the court stating that the witches were accused of using their magic to turn mortals into the costumes they chose to wear for All Hallow's Eve and were working with Lords Kayn and Kazak, to stay in the mortal world after the veil had closed to plot an attack on the Halloween court.

The Court Witch blinked, fixing her apprentice with a stern gaze that was met with a confident stare. Slowly, she turned to the warlocks and asked, "And how does the accused plead?"

"Not guilty"

Danny scoffed and pointed out they switched bodies with humans, "It doesn't get much guiltier than that."

"Silence!" the Court Witch exclaimed. "You may speak when it is your turn."

Taken aback, the rangers watched as Kayn soothed down his shirt while Kazak folded his arms and threw a smug look at them while the witches stood back offering them wicked smiles as the Court Witch turned back to the judges.

"Very well," the jack-o-lantern in the middle boomed. "Both sides may present their case. The accused shall be the first to speak."

"What is his game?" Eric mumbled as they watched Kayn step up to face the judges, addressing them as brothers and acknowledged that he and his brothers had been banished by the court.

"We're about to find out" Taylor whispered as she folded her arms and sidled next to him.

"This Hallowed night marked the end of that sentence," Kayn continued. "We agree that our actions in the past were misguided but our time away has shown us the error of our ways and we were looking forward to starting anew. We chose to celebrate our new found freedom by partaking in the time honoured tradition of visiting the mortal realm. Our associates here we're simply providing assistance since we have been away for so long. I assure you we carried no ill-will towards the mortals and meant them no harm."

"Yeah right," Eric grumbled. "That's why most of Silver Hills has been running around like witches and monsters and whatnots all night."

The Court Witch turned sharply in his direction with narrowed eyes, effectively silencing him before she turned back as Kayn continued. "Yes, my brother and I are currently housed in mortal shells but it was at the request of the mortals themselves."

"That's insane!" Ashley exclaimed but the Court Witch simply called for her to be silent. Kayn met Eric's eyes from across the room before turning back to the judges. "You see they are special, and knew of our ways and our Hallow's Eve tradition, they wanted to experience this sacred night through our eyes and with the help of these lovely witches we were able to do so. It is however a temporary situation, we were to switch back before midnight, however we were unduly interrupted by these so called Power Rangers."

"What?!"

"Are you insane!"

"That's a lie!"

"They're unconscious. How is that experiencing Halloween?" Taylor argued alongside the others, waving her hand towards the near lifeless forms resting against the pillar.

"Enough!" cried the jack-o-lantern to the right. "You will not defy the rules of this court, for your insolence you will…"

"Honoured Judges wait!"Selestra exclaimed, ignoring the glare the Court Witch threw her way. "The Power Rangers are unfamiliar with the rules of the court, I ask that you please be lenient with them."

Kazak voiced his protest but the Court Witch turned to him and warned that while the Rangers were new to the ways of the court but he was not. "So be it the jack-o-lantern on the left crooned before accepting Selestra's request and turned its flickering eyes to the Court Witch.

She responded with a curt nod and pointed her wand at the pyramid, making the bottom level light up in red before turning to the rangers. "You have been granted ten chances. Every time you break a rule, you will receive a strike. Receive 10 strikes and you will be presumed guilty and be destroyed. Do you understand?"

"I don't ge..," Lucas began but Eric cut him off saying they understood.

"Then let the trial resume," the judges boomed.

"What gives?" Lucas hissed. "These guys aren't playing fair."

"I know," he replied. "But right now the only way we can get out of this is to play by their rules.

The Court Witch cast a glance at the unconscious figures before turning her attention back to Kayn, tapping her wand against her palm. "Although she spoke out of turn, the yellow ranger makes a fair point. How do you account for this occurrence?" she questioned.

"Did she just take our side?" Danny questioned but it was overshadowed by Kazak shouting that it was not admissible. The Court Witch agreed but pointed out that her question was, as was the unmoving forms the mortals were apparently contained in.

Kazak growled as he tightened his grip on the railing but Kayn remained calm as he explained that the magic was too powerful for the mortals and they succumbed to exhaustion. It was an unforeseen consequence.

"Present the evidence," the judges boomed.

Kayn nodded and gestured to Callico who stepped forward and bowed her Court Witch flicked her wand in the direction of the cauldron and the rangers took a step back as smoke began to rise from its mouth, forming a cloud overhead in which foggy silhouettes shifted creating an image that grew clearer and clearer.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ashley whispered as they watched what appeared to be the two men Kayn and Kazak had switched bodies with, flirting with Camryn and Callico in a crowded cafe decorated with black and orange streamers.

"How are they doing that?" Danny added but Taylor held her hand up signaling them to be silent.

"I've always wanted to try that," the blond man said before lifting his glass and throwing Callico a flirty smile only to receive a scowl in return. "That's one way to celebrate Halloween," his friend added. "And I'm all for it."

"How do you propose we do that?" Camryn asked sweetly as she leaned forward, gently caressing the dark haired man's hand with her fingers. He blinked as a red flush crept into his cheeks as he just stared at her. "Let's switch things up," the blond suggested. "I think it'll be a lot of fun."

His voice echoed as the image faded away leaving the rangers dumbstruck as the warlocks turned to them with smug grins. "There is no way they agreed to that," Danny whispered urgently. "I saw their faces, they were terrified."

"Yeah, something tells me that's not what they were talking about," Eric huffed. "This is definitely not going to be a fair fight."

A loud ding echoed through the room drawing their attention to the pyramid as another level lit up in bright red. "Perhaps this will teach you to observe the rules," the Court Witch pointed out, earning an eye roll which she ignored as she turned back to Kayn telling him to speak.

"As you have seen honoured judges, the transference was initiated by the mortals. We are innocent. The only crime committed on his Hallowed night was against innocent beings of the alter realms at the hands of these so called heroes."

Ashley and Lucas gasped as he pointed at the five of them. "Are you crazy?" the blue ranger yelled. "We would never hurt the innocent," Ashley added, slamming her hands against the railings

"Silence!" the Court Witch roared even as another ding announced another strike against the rangers.

"You're friends' silence should be proof enough," Kayn continued as he locked eyes with Eric. "But allow us to present the evidence for the benefit of this court."

"What is he talking about?" Ashley whispered turning to Taylor, Eric and Danny who had all stiffened.

"They couldn't know? Could they?" Taylor mumbled, ignoring her fellow yellow ranger.

"They definitely know what happened," Eric pointed out. "But they weren't around to see any of it."

"So it all depends on how exactly this evidence thing works?" Danny asked as they watched Callista step forward, placing a finger on her amulet as she bowed her head.

Shapes shifted within the smoke once again but this time as the image became clearer Ashley's eyes widened as she watched a red haired version of herself knocking down zombies with her batons. But before she could ask what was going on the image shifted to Eric firing shots at a pirate and a knight before moving on to him fighting the gremlin horde.

"This is not good," Danny whispered even as Lucas asked when all this happened. But they were silenced by the image shifting to Taylor knocking Wes down but just as she was about to stake him, the scene moved to her fight with Jen where another near stake moment was interrupted by a shift to her heaving Frankenstein's monster through a doorway.

"Hold on, did you try to kill Wes and Jen? And Joel too?" Lucas asked, turning on her with wide eyes as the image faded.

"Technically yes," she shrugged. "But I was only conscious for that last one."

"An admission," Kayn pointed out. "Does the court need any more proof of their wrongdoings?"

"That's ridiculous," Eric yelled, ignoring the ding of another strike. "You know they were under a spell when that happened. They had no idea what they were doing."

"Even if that is true, you certainly were not affected, were you? You were in complete control of your actions and yet you harmed those innocent creatures."

"They attacked us," Danny countered, wincing at the familiar sound of another strike being counted against them."We were defending ourselves."

"And how do you explain this?," Kazak added.

The image in the smoke changed, showing Ashley, Lucas and Danny each attacking the three witches before Lucas froze them with his badge. It then shifted to Taylor throwing Kazak into the side of a cliff and attacking him with her sword followed by Eric knocking Kayn to the ground and brandishing his blade at his throat.

"You all seemed perfectly conscious of your actions," Kayn observed, rendering the rangers speechless as they stared wide-eyed at the images of what appeared to be a one-sided fight.

"You see," Kazak shouted. "We have done no wrong. We are the victims here, brutally attacked by those who would accuse us of harming innocents. It is not us but the power rangers who deserve to be banished for all eternity."

* * *

That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it.

Till next time...


	18. Chapter 18

It's been a while but I finally managed to get this chapter done. So without wasting any more time here's goes...

* * *

** Chapter 18: _Trick Or Trial_**

Eric locked eyes with Selestra as Kazak continued to accuse the rangers of unjustly bringing them before the court, but she just stared back, eyes wide as she slowly shook her head. Clearly, she had not planned on things going this way and was just as helpless as they were to stop it.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ashley grumbled as the Court Witch declared a recess, vanishing along with the judges and guards. "How did we become the bad guys here?"

"That's easy," Taylor pointed out, eyes narrowed at the smirking faces staring at them from across the room."They know how to work this twisted system, we don't. They carefully picked those moments and knew exactly where to begin and cut them off, and manipulate their memories to their advantage ."

"I don't get it. Don't we just think of a moment and let it appear in the smoke?" Lucas wondered. "If we just show them what really happened, it'll prove that they're lying."

Taylor pressed her lips together, folding her arms as Eric and Ashley turned to each other, uncertainty scribbled across their faces. "I don't think it's that simple," Danny pointed out. "They weren't at the mansion or outside the store, but they somehow knew exactly what happened. We could probably prove there was more to that last fight but we have no way of proving that we acted the way we did because of a spell."

Ashely ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes focused on the strands of brown. "I still don't understand how Lucas and I don't remember a thing, but you three seem to know exactly how and when all that happened," she pointed out.

"That is a story we don't have time for" Taylor explained, her hand reaching for a necklace that was no longer around her neck.

"We'll explain everything once we get out of here," Eric added.

"First, we actually have to get out of here," Lucas stated. "It would have been nice of your friend to tell us how exactly this worked before she got us into this mess."

"Not my friend," Eric corrected. "But I don't think she was expecting this either. She definitely underestimated those two."

"And if we don't come up with a plan, we're going to pay the price for it," Ashley pointed out. Eric grunted as he turned back to the warlock brothers and their friends, Kazak's lips curled into a sneer as the firm hand on his shoulder reigned him in.

A loud gong echoed through the room as the mummy guards marched back in, followed by the witches and judges who materialized in a puff of smoke. In a single voice, the judges announced that the court would resume session and the Court Witch strode to the centre of the room summarising the charges now laid against the rangers before turning to face them."And how do you respond to the evidence that has been presented against you?"

Ashley clenched her fists at her side as Lucas turned to Danny, just as Eric did Taylor before stepping forward to address her. "I won't lie, the battles you just saw did happen but none of them were meant to hurt innocent humans, witches or anyone else visiting our world."

"Did Eric Myers just say that?" Lucas whispered but Danny shushed him as the Quantum Ranger continued. "A spell or curse was cast on the people of Silver Hills, transforming them into the beings they dressed up as for Halloween. The same thing happened to my friends. They attacked each other with no awareness of what they were doing."

"And you?" the witch questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"I wasn't wearing a costume when the spell took effect, so I was lucky enough to escape its effects. I was attacked by those under their influence and was forced to defend myself with the intention of subduing them, not harming anyone."

The Court Witch hummed as her dark eyes shifted their gaze to the three rangers standing behind him. "Your friends appear to be in control of their actions now," she pointed out.

"We were able to locate the origin of the spell and undo it, returning everyone to normal. Though most of them don't remember what happened or what they did while under its influence.

The witch nodded and turned to the judges who declared as one, "Present the evidence."

The Court Witch turned back to him and flicked her wand. Smoke rose out of the cauldron once more and as the images took shape they saw Eric talking to Selestra but what surprised him was that she was no longer in her policewoman disguise but as she was now. He turned to her but she kept her eyes focused on the images as they revealed them walking back to the car where the young woman in the blue dress stalked up to them.

"It appears that the ranger was conspiring with the apprentice after all," Kazak pointed out. Taylor and Ashley glared at him but he otherwise went ignored as the image shifted to Eric following Taylor into the basement of the costume store where they discovered the cauldron and the unconscious witches.

"All that proves is that those weak mortals tried to interfere with magic and paid the price for it," Callista spoke up.

"What happened to no talking out of turn?" Lucas argued with the witch who simply turned to tell him that the rule did not apply to the defendants. "That's great," he grumbled as they watched the image shift to the field where the rangers ran into the clearing and began fighting the witches and warlocks. "How are they doing that? Danny whispered urgently as they watched the same version of the fight as before, the rangers taking the upper hand in the fight. "Why can't we see what actually happened?"

"This is not good," Ashley mumbled.

Taylor growled under her breath as she turned away from the shocked expression on Eric's face to the knowing looks on their opponents' faces, all focused on what was playing out in the smoke, except Kayn who was staring at Eric with a smug smile and Camryn who was playing with a band around her wrist. They knew exactly what was happening and it made her want to wring their necks. Her hand once again reached for the phantom necklace and settled against the collar of her suit. She blinked and turned her attention to Camryn and the other witches, her eyes searching for the matching silver bands around their wrists.

"Enough!" she called out, placing her hand on Eric's shoulder and stepping in front as everyone turned their attention to her. "Callista is right, what we showed you doesn't prove that she and the others cast the curse, we didn't see them do it, we just found where it had been cast."

"Taylor, what are you doing?" Lucas mumbled while the witches threw her a smirk. "But we can prove that they attacked the two women you saw unconscious alongside Selestra and that they were planning to use them as anchors to stay in our world once the veil had closed."

She looked over at the witches as Callico leaned over to whisper something in Callista's ear but the red-haired witch simply brushed her off as her smile vanished. Taylor fought back a smile of her own as she addressed the Court Witch, "Allow me to show you."

The witch flicked her wand and the images shifted back to the basement where Taylor was examining the unconscious women and held up one of their wrists revealing the silver band strapped around as Katie, in her witch form, explained what it was.

"The real evidence," Taylor interjected. "Is right in front of you, all three of them have the same bands. I'm sure you have the power to test who they are connected to. Those innocent women are lying unconscious in a hospital and there's nothing anyone can do to help them."

Silence followed. Callista and Callico paled and Kazak's eyes grew wide, only Kayn remained composed while Camryn continued to fidget with her band. Callico swatted her hand, hissing at her to stop and forcing her to look up where she found everyone staring at her. Then without warning, the witches' hands shook as an invisible force lifted them into the air, clearly displaying the bands for all to see.

The Court Witch kept her wand on them as she turned to the judges who needed no time to deliberate to pronounce them guilty. Callista opened her mouth but no words came out while Callico's lips curled in anger and Camryn just blinked in confusion. The Court Witch then turned to the warlocks with questioning eyes but Kazak immediately denounced all involvement with them. "Our arrangement with them only extended to helping us navigate the mortal realm and the transference. We were not party to their schemes or intentions."

She tilted her head upwards and held Kazak's gaze for a moment before turning to the judges. The flames flickered furiously as they deliberated with all eyes now on them. Kayn gripped the railing in front of him once the flames settled and closed his eyes as the judge in the middle boomed loudly, "As there is insufficient evidence connecting Lords Kayn and Kazak to the intention of the witches Callista, Callico and Camryn to defy our most sacred law of traveling between realms on All Hallow's Eve, they shall not be punished and the trial will continue. The witch will be removed but will be sentenced at the end of the trial."

With a flick of the Court Witch's wand, the three witches were trapped within a wrought-iron cage which slowly rose above the court. Callista clung to the bars, emerald eyes glaring down at Kayn as her li[ps parted in protest but her words died as he stared into her eyes and inconspicuously swept his finger over his lips.

"Traitors!" Callico screamed, flames engulfing her hands only to vanish as they touched the bars of the cage. "You will pay for this." She pushed past her silent sister and turned to the judges' table. "They are guilty of everything they have been accused of," she bellowed. "They had no intention of returning the mortal shells they stole. And most certainly mean to have their revenge on the court that banished them."

"What just happened?" asked Danny as he turned to Lucas who looked just as confused as he did. "That turned around pretty quickly, didn't it?"

"Nonsense," Kazak's voice entered the fray as he declared that there was no evidence of the witch's claims. "It is merely the wailing of a witch on the brink of her own downfall."

"They're not going to take him seriously, are they?" Ashley whispered as the Court Witch called for order.

"Technically he's right," Danny pointed out. "Unless the witches can provide the proof they need. They know exactly what went down."

"I don't think that's how it works," Eric mumbled as she stared across the room at Kayn. His hand had fallen to his side and his calm demeanour betrayed nothing, even as Kazak continued to argue against the accusations "I don't think they can provide "evidence" now. Kayn would not let his brother antagonize them like that if they could. He's in control and he knows it. And without proof, whatever she says is just another accusation."

"This sucks," Lucas grumbled. "They literally did the whole villain monologue thing, telling us their entire plan and we have no way to prove that."

"Eric tried," Danny pointed out. "But somehow the only thing he showed them was exactly what the psycho brothers wanted us to. And we can't risk that happening again."

Ashley raised the question about that not being the case for Taylor. Eric looked over at Kayn who appeared to sense him and turned, offering him a curt smile before finally stepping in to restrain his brother.

"Could it be?"

"What?" Taylor asked

"Could he be controlling what we think about? I was so mad at him I didn't realise earlier but I was trying so hard to prove what he showed the court wrong that…"

"...That you inadvertently focused on exactly that." she finished, catching his eye before turning to look at Kayn. "Mind games or control? He didn't try anything with me, though you're the one who's been staring at him since this started."

He scowled before shaking his head, "I don't know. He did say his powers were getting stronger and this is a place where magic exists so anything is possible. And I think he wanted the witches to get caught."

"You think he planned this?" asked Lucas

"Just look at him, he thinks he's in control. I don't think he planned on being brought to the court but it's a pretty convenient way to get rid of loose variables. Especially variables that know what he's planning."

"That's a lot of guesswork Myers," Taylor pointed out. "But if he can get into our heads, then we need to deal with that."

"Taylor's right, this is just guesswork, we don't actually know anything, except that if we try to show them what really happened it could backfire on us," Ashley pointed out. She looked across the room as Callico continued to holler languishing accusations against the warlocks that had betrayed her while Kazak countered that she was just being hysterical. "But we need to do something."

"Okay, if we go with Eric's theory of Kayn somehow being able to control what we're thinking of, how do we stop him?" asked Danny.

"Mind control usually requires a device of some kind or a lot of concentration, since it's safe to assume they weren't expecting us, it's probably the latter," Ashley deduced, leaving Taylor to suggest they distract him.

Lucas turned to Eric and nodded at his morpher, "Didn't Trip just give you a bunch of upgrades? Isn't there something you can use?"

The Quantum Ranger looked down as his morpher, running the list of upgrades Trip had rattled on about and blinked, "Actually..."

"Silence!"

The voices of the three judges echoed through the room, making the ground quiver at the lights flicker. Kazak and Callico ceased their argument and shrank back as the room became still and quiet. It was Kayn who finally broke the silence as he addressed the judges, "Honoured judges, I apologize for my brother's behaviour. It is perhaps the effect of being in mortal skin for so long. And it is hard to be betrayed by those we believed we could trust."

Callico snarled but this time the Court Witch pointed her wand at her, relinquishing her of her voice. "But he speaks the truth. We are pained to hear of this crime and are hurt by this accusation but there is no proof of this claim and I feel I must point out that the witches have been declared guilty and by the law of this court their testimony does not hold."

The Court Witch bows her head. "Yes, the testimony is unacceptable and the guilty may not provide evidence."

"But we still can."

All eyes turned to Taylor who gazes with the Court Witch. "You didn't forget about us, did you? It is still our turn to make our case if I'm not wrong."

The Court Witch raised her eyebrow but smiled as she tapped her wand against her palm and nodded, "Indeed, the proceedings shall resume. Which one of you will be presenting the evidence?"

Eric stepped forward and Taylor's eyes immediately sought out Kayn who had a smirk playing on his lips, his eyes focused on Eric. The Court Witch raised her wand but Eric stopped her.

"There's no need for that, Let's try this the way we do things in our realm."

He punched in a code on his morpher and immediately a familiar voice filled the room, "_So you managed to undo a spell, I'll admit that for a race so ignorant of magic it is impressive but it has nothing to do with what we have planned. Come midnight, the mortals will take our discarded shells back to our prison and our powers will return, then nothing can stop us from showing you the true meaning of chaos."_

Silence echoed through the room. The Court Witch tilted her head to the side while the smirk on Kayn's face dissolved into a confused grimace as his eyes widened, while Kazak's threatened to fall right out of his sockets. Eric fiddled with the buttons fast-forwarding the recording to specific moments and all Kayn and Kazak could do was stare at the rangers as they heard themselves openly declare that they intended to take over the mortal realm and seek revenge on those who had banished them.

"What is this?" Kazak hollered over the sound of his own voice criticizing mortals. "Such trickery is not permitted in this court."

Eric shot him a smirk as he turned it off and addressed the Court Witch, "No tricks," he assured her. "It's just a recording of what happened earlier tonight, with help from technology from the future. But I'll be happy to play by your rules if that will convince the court."

The witch nodded and pointed her wand at him. Once again images began to shift in the cauldron, revisiting the fight between the rangers and the warlocks for the third time that night. Only this time, the court witnessed what really happened, the warlocks ganging up on Eric as the witches fought the unarmed rangers forcing them into a corner until their morphers appeared and they were able to change the tide of the battle.

Taylor shot a glance at Kayn who was gripping the railing while his eyes flickered with a yellow glow. Kazak simply gaped as he watched himself being hurtled to the ground until the rangers stood victorious.

"Now that's more like it," Lucas declared as he high fived Danny while Taylor and Ashely sighed in relief. The Court Witch pulled back her wand and blinked before turning to the judges. Kazak opened his mouth to argue but Kayn shot him a fierce look that forced him to step back before he turned his glowing yellow gaze on Eric, hands vibrating with energy as they twisted the metal railing.

A low murmuring filled the room as Kayn kept his gaze fixed on Eric. "We have to do something," Kazak grumbled but was ignored as the energy surrounding his brother's hands grew stronger and stronger.

"He can't attack us, can he?" asked Danny as he took a step back.

"That would make things interesting," Ashley added.

"Not so in control now, is he?" Taylor chimed in.

"Yeah but…" Danny's concern was cut off by a feral roar from across the room as Kayn raised his arms and fired a blast of energy at them. The rangers instinctively slipped into a defensive stance but the blast hit the railing and veered away, deflected by an invisible barrier. And before they could even process what had happened, shackles appeared around the warlock's wrists as the Court Witch informed them that they had defiled the rules of the court. With a wave of her wand, they were encased in a cage that floated towards the judges' table where they were joined by the witches.

The flames flickered as the judge on the right declared, "By law of the ancient tradition of Lucidium Culpae…"

"We the supreme judges of the Halloween Intergalactic Court rule in favour of…" the one on the left continued before they shouted as one, "The Power Rangers."

"Yes!" Selestra shouted but pressed her lips shut and turned her attention to the floor when the Court Witch glared. The judges, however, ignored her as they declared that for their crimes against mortals, the witches would be sentenced to 500 years of imprisonment. And as for the warlocks, for endangering innocents and plotting against the court they would be banished to the realm of the forgotten for all eternity.

"No!" Kazak screamed, grasping the bars of his cage. "Not that place. I will not go back to that place."

"Looks like the traitor got what he deserved," Callico sneered as a pair of guards marched up to their cage to escort it into the fog. Kazak growled and turned to the rangers yelling that they would pay for this even as a second pair of guards marched towards them.

'Hey wait," Danny called out before they walked away with the cage.

The Court Witch smiled and turned to him with a gentle nod. "We have not forgotten," she assured him and raised her wand over her head, drawing circles in the air three times before flicking it at Kayn and Kazak then swiftly pointing it at the two unconscious forms at the end of the room. Each of them was immediately encased in a cocoon of white light when it faded, the two humans slumped over each other on the ground while in the cage stood the warlocks in their true forms, pumpkin heads and all.

Danny blinked as he watched the guards escort the floating cage into the fog, Kazak still screaming for his freedom. "After all they went through to switch the first time, it was that easy?"

"It is if you know what you're doing," the witch whispered before twirling her wand again. In a swirl of smoke, the rangers vanished from behind the railing and stood before the judges with Selestra now accompanying them.

"Happy now?" Eric asked her but she kept her eyes forward and just took a deep breath, clutching her wand between her hands.

"Selestra," the judge on the right rasped. "You defied the rules of the Court, for that you are hereby stripped of your rank as Apprentice Court Witch."

"That's not fair," Danny piped up. "She made a mistake."

"And without her, we wouldn't have been able to stop tonight from going in a very different way. We wouldn't have even known about it, nor would you until it was too late," Eric added, earning a surprised look from the Selestra.

"We are in agreement ranger," the judge on the left croaked. "Which is why we have reached the conclusion that she is not suited to the role of Court Witch and now appoint her as Investigator to the Halloween Intergalactic Court."

"What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she turned to the Court Witch who was smiling. "I don't understand."

"It means you now get to do the job you're actually good at," Eric whispered but she just stared ahead until the judge in the centre boomed, "Do you accept your new position and vow to seek out those who would harm innocents and bring them to justice?"

Selestra blinked and looked from the judges to the Court Witch then back to the judges until Eric prodded her with his elbow. "Yes, yes I do," she replied with a courteous bow.

"So be it!"

The Court Witch twirled her wand and a ribbon of white light swirled around Selestra as a cape identical to the Court Witch's appeared on her shoulders, except with a dark green lining just as a brighter shade appeared on the front of her dress. She bowed her head once again and joined the Court Witch beside the judges' table offering the rangers a grateful smile as she walked past them.

"Power Rangers!" the judges declared as one, garnering their attention before the one in the centre continued, "You have been truthful in face of machinations against you and this court. Your bravery and diligence have stood between the court and those who would bring it harm and have seen through to the end that justice has prevailed."

"Just doing our job," Lucas chimed in. "Now how do we get out of here?"

"You may depart immediately," the judge on the left croaked, before the one on the right picked up, "However before we do, we would like to confer on you a token of gratitude."

The rangers looked from one to the other and then at Selestra who appeared just as confused as they were but the Court Witch, however, was smiling as the judge in the centre boomed once more, "For your services to the Halloween Intergalactic Court, you are hereby granted a request, anything you desire across space and time. Choose wisely.

* * *

That's it for now. It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but there was no sense in holding on to it. Do let me know what you think though.

Till next time...


	19. Chapter 19

So this took longer than I expected but it's finally done. It's been a strange couple of months and being stuck at home has somehow meant having less writing time. But this chapter is finally done, so here we go...

* * *

**Chapter 19: _Strike Two_**

"Two hours!"

Danny exclaimed as the rangers, led by Selestra stepped out of the portal that brought them back to the Collins Mansion. "You could have asked for anything, literally anything across space and time, and you ask for two more hours of Halloween. I would've thought you more than anyone else, wanted this night over and done with."

Eric smiled and looked over at Taylor who threw him a knowing look. "Oh believe me, I've had as much Halloween crazy as I can stomach, but we have some unfinished business that can't wait." He shifted his gaze to find Lucas and added, "And I definitely do not want to deal with Wes' lookalike if the timeship doesn't get out of here in time."

"I second that," Lucas chimed in.

"You certainly are an interesting group," said Selestra as she turned to face them. "I never imagined tonight would turn out the way it did, however without your assistance I shudder to think what would have happened if they went unchecked."

Danny offered her a grin and immediately insisted that they were happy to help. "But maybe next time, clue us in on how the crazy court works before you take us there."

"Next time? Count me out," Lucas declared while Selestra chuckled and asked if they really wanted to understand the way the court worked.

"I don't think so," Ashley chimed in, cutting off Danny before he could speak.

"Wise decision, no two trials are alike, though the judges are leaning towards annihilation instead of banishment as a punishment from now on…" she trailed on about court procedure until she realised that the rangers were staring at her with less than impressed expressions. "My apologies, what I wanted to say, was thank you rangers, your willingness to see justice done got us through tonight and helped me find my place in the court. For that I shall be eternally grateful."

"I think you earned that on your own," Taylor pointed out.

"We should be thanking you ," Ashley added, "If you hadn't shown up with our morphers, we would not be standing here."

Selestra smiled and shook her gently, "Your morphers do not make you heroes, they are just tools that assist you. You were chosen to be power rangers because you are heroes and that is all I needed to know that you would do the right thing. But a little help never hurt."

"You definitely helped us out tonight," Taylor said

"Perhaps, however, since the danger has passed, I will need to return your morphers to their rightful places."

Before Ashley, Danny and Taylor could react she lifted her wand and pointed it at them, surrounding each of them in a swirl of smoke, emerging without their suits and morphers without their morphers. They blinked as they stared down at their costumes, Taylor's eyes focused on her bare hands, barely registering what was happening around her, including Eric and Lucas powering down.

"Well rangers this is where we must part ways," Selestra's voice broke through, forcing her to look up as the witch took a step back and raised her wand. "All the very best to you. I hope we meet again." And with a flick of her wand, she was gone.

"She sure knows how to make an exit," Ashley grumbled while Danny stared at the spot she had just vanished from. "As long as she doesn't make another entrance, I'm not complaining," Lucas grumbled as he fidgeted with his costume. "Well we have a party to get back to."

"Ahh!"

"What's wrong Dan?"

"My costume! It's still on the ballroom floor," he exclaimed and tore up the staircase.

"Why… you know what? Never mind. I'm putting it down as just another weird Halloween thing. But he does have the right idea, we should get in there, everyone's probably been wondering where we are," Ashley pointed out as she adjusted her holster and followed Danny .

Taylor watched Lucas join her and took a deep breath. "Do you think they know what's going on? Being cursed is one thing but magical time reversal, that's a whole other story? What if they're still monsters?"

A hand reached out and grabbed hers and she looked up at Eric who had a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "I think we can trust that the pumpkins worked their magic to make sure this mess is all cleaned up."

A gentle laugh escaped her lips as she curled her fingers around the hand holding hers. "If you believe that, then anything really is possible on Halloween."

He smiled and tugged at her hand as he led her inside, "C'mon, the real circus is about to begin."

"I think we handle being spectators. But how much grief do you think you're going to get for not being in costume?" she asked, gesturing to his uniform.

"We're about to find out," he grumbled as they walked through the door to find Wes marching towards them, his cape billowing behind him as he brushed past Andros who had his arms wrapped around Ashely. "Where have you…" he began but Jen pushed passed him and pulled Taylor into a hug, "I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled as he pulled back and stepped to the side to hug Eric. "I was starting to get worried. One second everyone was trying to kill each other, then they weren't and the clock started spinning backwards, Oh and Katie, Dana and Kendall just appeared in the foyer and…"

"Jen, Jen it's okay. It's all over now, everything is back to normal," Taylor reassured her as she took her arm in hers and led her away, turning back just enough to catch Eric's eyes before throwing a pointed look at Wes.

"What was that all about?" the blond asked as he watched them leave. "Nothing you need to worry your fair little head about. All you need to focus on is what you have to do, you're kind of running out of time."

Wes' eyes widened and he patted down his jacket, sighing in relief when he found what he was looking for and pulled out a small velvet box. "You ready to do this?" Eric asked, an amused grin playing on his lips. But Wes surprised him when he didn't look up and continued to stare at the box, his grip tightening around it.

"Wes?"

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"Wha…"

"I know I love her and this feels right but maybe tonight isn't the right moment after all."

"What brought this on?"

He looked up, allowing Eric to see the doubt in once confident eyes, making him wonder what had changed. "Tonight started out great and all, but since then she's been distracted and has been looking at the clock like she's waiting for something to happen, has checked her reflection in anything and everything and even looked at me like she was afraid of me for a moment. She's figured out, hasn't she? She has and she's freaked out about it."

Eric blinked as he watched his friend pace around the now empty foyer, fiddling with the box in hands like it was a Rubik's cube. "I knew this was a bad idea, who pulls off a stunt like this on Halloween? In costume? She probably thinks I'm a freak. This is so messed up."

"Enough Wes," Eric cut him off as he reached out to grab him by the shoulders and turned him around to face him. "Jen hasn't figured out anything yet. As for her thinking you're a freak, she knew what she was getting into when she came back. Besides, for someone who doesn't really care much for Halloween, she went all out, so I'd say she's all in. Yes, she's acting a little strange but that has nothing to do with you, it's been a strange night and tomorrow, you and I can grab a drink and I'll fill in the blanks, but you planned tonight for a reason and if this is going to happen it's gotta happen now."

"You really think I should do this now?"

"Positive. So, I'm going to ask you again, are you ready?"

Wes looked down at the box again before tucking it into his pocket and looking up at Eric with a smile, eyes brimming with confidence. "The only one who's not ready is you. I can't believe you not only showed up late but without a costume," he teased.

"Am too. Haven't you seen a Power Ranger in civies before?" Eric shot back before grabbing his friend by the arm and pulling him into the ballroom as he grumbled but about how it was a uniform and he couldn't call them civies.

As they stepped into the darkened room, he immediately noticed that all the damage the raging guests had caused had been reversed. His eyes fell on Lucas and the other Time Force rangers, including Trip and Circuit by the bar before darting across to the buffet table where Danny was talking to Leo and Carter with Kendall at his side. A quick sweep of the room told that all the guests were accounted for and from what he could see in the dim light, no one was sporting any obvious injuries, bruises or torn costumes. The judges seemed to have kept their word, everything was back to normal and he hoped it was the same across the city.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Taylor and Jen join Mike and Maya by the staircase, the latter looking more relaxed and at ease. He nudged Wes and tilted his head in her direction. "This is it."

"Right," Wes replied as he adjusted his jacket.

"You might want to lose the fangs though."

In a flurry Wes divulged himself of his fangs and cape, thrusting them into Eric's before marching over to Jen and asking her to dance.

"Do you want to explain how I managed to get here before you?"

Eric cringed as he dumped Wes' things on a nearby table before tuning to Alan who was pulling a balck masquerade mask over his head. "I'm not sure you'll believe me if I told you," he offered.

"Try me."

Eric chuckled as he glanced around the room once again. "I promised Wes a drink and a story tomorrow, you can crash that party."

"It's showtime," Taylor announced as she joined them, just as the music changed, cutting off Alan's reply. They turned their attention to the couple on the dance floor as Wes spun Jen around before leading her to the centre, his eyes never leaving hers.

On cue the other couples stepped away and Phillips appeared with a tray of champagne. Eric picked up a flute and gave Taylor's hand a gentle squeeze before slipping through the darkness to join the other Time Force rangers. Alan offered Taylor his arm and which she gracefully accepted, allowing him to escort her to the edge of the dancefloor.

* * *

The last notes of the song faded away and Wes and Jen stopped moving. She smiled at him relieved that all the craziness was now over, Taylor had given her the short version but the details could wait. All she wanted was to enjoy the moment with Wes and her friends. He took her by surprise when he walked up to her without his cape and fangs, she ditched hers the moment she turned back to normal but he was very into his character. Though after watching him try to kill their friends a few hours ago, she wasn't complaining.

Right now he was looking at her with a big smile on his face and those gentle eyes she knew all too well. This was her Wes and having him and the others back to normal was the best gift and dancing with him just made her feel lighter. Her lips curled into a frown when she realised a new song had not started playing. Confused, she looked around and noticed that they were alone. All the light seemed to have shifted to the dancefloor, leaving the rest of the room in darkness. She could barely see the others standing just beyond the light but no one was moving or saying a word.

"Wes what's…"

She stopped short when he took both her hands in his and stepped back. "I know this probably isn't what you're expecting and that it is a little unusual, but hey we're all about making our own rules, our own destiny. For a moment I wasn't sure whether I should do this tonight or not but I know how much you would want our friends to be here, because I definitely want them to be. It just makes tonight perfect."

"Wes"

"Jen, I don't know if I will ever be able to tell you just how grateful I am that you chose me, that you willingly left behind everything you knew for me, for us. I love you Jen, and I promise that I am going to spend every waking moment proving to you that you made the right choice."

"What Wes, are you…"

"I have it all, my family, amazing friends and a life I never imagined was possible, all because you walked into my life. You have given me so much and I am so grateful but there is one more thing I need to ask of you."

She gasped as he got down on one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket, revealing a beautiful platinum ring with two pink diamonds on either side of a larger clear diamond in the centre. "Will you marry me?"

Jen blinked and looked down at him, a smile spreading across her face, "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

His smile grew as he slid the ring onto her finger and rose to his feet, pulling her into his arms before kissing her. Applause erupted around them as the lights flickered, illuminating the entire ballroom and revealing all their friends standing around them.

"To Wes and Jen," Eric called out, raising his flute along with his teammates and as everyone else echoed his toast the team huddled together with laughter and squeals as music once again filled the air.

* * *

Taylor stepped up to the window and looked up at the moon and took a deep breath. She then looked down at her hands, clenching them into fists before relaxing them and repeating the process.

"Everything okay?"

She looked up as Eric approached her and accepted the glass of wine he handed her. "Fine. Just thinking."

"About?" he prompted, taking a sip of his punch.

"Tonight. We went straight into fight mode with Ashley and Lucas, it didn't really hit that no one remembers any of it until we got back here. So much happened tonight, so much more could have happened but they just think they've been here having a good time and didn't realise how the time went by. Have to admit there's a part of me that's a little jealous."

"Believe me, you don't remember the worst of it," he mumbled, turning to look out the window. Her brow furrowed with curiosity and her grip tightened around her glass. "About that, are you going to…"

"Hey guys," Ashley joined them, cutting her question short. "This has been some night huh?"

"You can say that again," Eric grumbled.

"So let me guess, you two were in on Wes' big surprise the whole time. That's why you asked for more time. So he could do it while your whole team was here."

Taylor smiled and gave him a knowing look but he just shrugged. "Wes isn't very good at keeping things to himself, especially when he's excited. And I wasn't kidding about his look-alike, he's very annoying. But that's nothing compared to sharing a car with Wes mourning his perfect proposal."

"That and telling him he ruined it himself by turning into a vampire wouldn't have gone down very well," Taylor added.

Ashley chuckled, "You know, when Andros first told me about you, I thought you were all business, no fuss. But that wasn't the whole picture, you're not just a good ranger, you're a very good friend. I'm honoured to have fought beside you tonight. I just wish I remembered more of it."

"Likewise," Eric offered. "And you kicked ass tonight, as a ranger and as the Widow. But if you want details, Danny's your guy. Though I should probably thank you for being cooperative, even as your other self."

"Your welcome, I think," she said uncertainly before turning to Taylor. "You and I definitely need to hang out more."

"I think we can make that happen. Can't let the boys in red have all the fun."

"You got it," Ashley shot back with a smile before excusing herself to find Maya.

"Really?" Eric commenced as he wrapped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "What? It's not like I have anything against boys in red, I just have way too many in my life and wouldn't mind being surrounded by a little yellow power now and then."

"Wha…"

"Sorry to interrupt guys…"

"Case in point," Taylor whispered nodding to Wes who was walking towards them. "The others have gone to change. We need to hit the beach soon."

Eric nodded and dropped a kiss on Taylor's head, whispering that he would catch up with her later before volunteering to get the car and heading for the door. As they watched him leave Wes came to stand beside Taylor with a curious look on his face.

"Congratulations," she said breaking the silence, "your big night was a success."

"Thanks, though I'm not sure I would have made it without you two, especially Eric."

She turned away and sipped her drink mumbling about how he didn't know just how right he was. "You know, you're welcome to come with us. I'm sure Katie and the others would like that."

"They might," she echoed. "But I think I'll say my goodbyes with everyone else, give you guys a little more team time. Besides there are only so many people who can fit in the truck."

"Taylor…"

"Plays for team Wild Force, something you seem to be forgetting."

"What?" he questioned looking at her aghast. "Since when does that matter? You're family."

She offered him a teasing smile and tapped her glass with her finger. "Is that the reason you insisted I tag along with all of you today?"

"Of cour…"

"The only reason?"

He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked out at his guests milling around the ballroom. "Okay, I confess, I did have an ulterior motive, but that doesn't change the fact that…"

"I'm family. I get it. Now get to the point."

"It's Eric. He's more himself around you. I mean, he's always himself but even when we talk to the team he's in business mode, he's gets along with everyone now but he doesn't really open up and have fun, not like he does when you're around."

"You think Eric knows how to open up and have fun?"

"Taylor!"

"Can I give you some advice?"

"Not like I can stop you...Owww" he cringed when she nudged him with her elbow.

"Relax, okay, enjoy your moment. You just got engaged, not a big surprise there, but it's a big moment. Just enjoy it, with Jen, the team, the rest of your friends. And give Eric a little more credit, he doesn't need me to be himself or put his team first."

Wes chuckled and turned to her with his trademark boyish grin, "I'm so glad we gave you that speeding ticket that day."

* * *

That's it for now. This is technically the end of the story but I do have one last chapter in the works as bonus. Because Eric and Taylor need to sort some things out and I like closing a story with an even number of chapters.

So till next time...


End file.
